Online Event

Dimitrios Georgakakis
University of St. Gallen, Switzerland

Abstract:
How do differences in political ideology among executives impact the TMT’s ability to swiftly promote strategic change in crisis conditions? In this study we develop a new and timely dimension of TMT faultlines – ideology-based subgroups – defined as the executive team’s fracture based on executives’ deeply-held ideological values and dispositions (i.e., conservative versus liberal political ideology). We predict and find that, in turnaround situations, value-related splits between liberal and conservative executives reduce the TMT’s ability to swiftly promote strategic renewal. We also find that the inertial effects of TMT political-ideology polarization strengthen when the executive group faces accumulated executive job demands, owing to high shareholder unrest and industry complexity. Overall, our research sheds light on how political ideology schisms in the TMT impact organizations in crisis conditions. It also provides a set of practical parameters on how the inertial effects of value-based separation in strategic leadership can be tackled.

Dimitrios Georgakakis is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Prior to this, he was a visiting scholar at Texas A&M University, Mays Business School. His research focuses on the areas of Strategic Leadership, Team Diversity, and International Corporate Governance. In September 2014, he graduated with a PhD (with Summa Cum Laude) in Strategic Management from the University of St. Gallen. His research has received several awards from reputable academic organizations – such as the Academy of Management, the Strategic Management Society, Emerald Publishing, and the European Institute of Advanced Studies. In 2018, Dimitrios received the reputable Latsis Prize which named him as the most outstanding young researcher (below the age of 40) at the University of St. Gallen, and among the five Latsis Prize Laurates in Switzerland across scientific disciplines. His work has been published in several academic outlets, such as the Journal of Management, the Journal of Management Studies, Academy of Management Discoveries, the Journal of World Business, the Leadership Quarterly, among others. Dimitrios holds experience at the interface with the industry, and has worked with several large organizations in the area of diversity and inclusion, such as Credit Suisse, Swisscom, Helvetia Group, Raiffeisen Bank and others. 

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