Top management team discretion and impact drivers of a firm’s competitiveness

The study of top management teams, which began with confidence, optimism, and promise, has been plagued by criticisms arising from mixed or weak findings and poor explanatory power of firm outcomes vis‐à‐vis other variables. This paper argues that the disputed phenomenon of top management team relevance can be enhanced through the inclusion of several intervening variables. To achieve that end, several perspectives had to be synthesized in order to arrive at an integrated framework of nine key variables that may illuminate: (1) the circumstances as to when and to what extent top management teams have discretion to both make and implement strategic decisions, and, hence, have the greatest impact on a firm’s competitive posture, (2) the impact of such discretion on a firm’s competitive posture.