CEOs as entrepreneurs : Performance and CEO turnover in China

Principal Topic: This paper is part of a broader study of CEO performance and turnover in China. CEO turnover is usually represented as being determined by firm performance and corporate governance. In addition recent research identifies that CEO?s are recruited to bring a specific skill set to a business, but as the industry context changes, the relevance and hence tenure of these CEOs is reduced Henderson, Miller and Hambrick, 2006). One group of CEOs are those recruited on the basis of their entrepreneurial track record. This research analyses how the interaction between performance and corporate governance characteristics affects the tenure of this group. Methodology/Key Propositions: The research approach is through the development and testing of a model based on the earlier work of Miller (1999), and enhanced by categorization of industry and CEO specific factors. Secondary data is extracted from the National Bureau of Statistics, China, and industry publications that provide commentary on the track record of mobile CEOs. The main proposition is that CEOs with a history of entrepreneurial behaviour, will maintain tenure if their performance continues to reflect the entrepreneurial dimensions that led to their appointment. This relationship will be moderated by measures of corporate governance used in previous work (Pi Lili, Lowe, Zhao, 2005) Results and Implications: The research confirms the impact of governance, industry type and performance on CEO tenure. However it also identifies ?entrepreneurial? CEOs as an important sub-group for whom the performance criteria appear to be stricter and specifically related to performance factors reflecting their recruitment as entrepreneurs