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  • 2021
  • Working Paper

Communication within Firms: Evidence from CEO Turnovers

By: Stephen Michael Impink, Andrea Prat and Raffaella Sadun
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
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Abstract

This paper uses novel, firm-level measures derived from communications metadata before and after a CEO transition in 102 firms to study if CEO turnover impacts employees’ communication flows. We find that CEO turnover leads to an initial decrease in intra-firm communication, followed by a significant increase approximately five months after the CEO change. The increase is driven primarily by vertical (i.e., manager to employee) communication. Greater increases in communication after CEO change are associated with greater increases in firm market returns.

Keywords

CEO Turnover; Management Succession; Organizations; Communication

Citation

Impink, Stephen Michael, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun. "Communication within Firms: Evidence from CEO Turnovers." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29042, July 2021.
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About The Author

Raffaella Sadun

Strategy
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More from the Authors
  • The C-Suite Skills That Matter Most By: Raffaella Sadun, Joseph B. Fuller, Stephen Hansen and PJ Neal
  • Multitasking While Driving: A Time Use Study of Commuting Knowledge Workers to Assess Current and Future Uses By: Thomaz Teodorovicz, Andrew L. Kun, Raffaella Sadun and Orit Shaer
  • The Anatomy of a Hospital System Merger: The Patient Did Not Respond Well to Treatment By: Martin Gaynor, Adam Sacarny, Raffaella Sadun, Chad Syverson and Shruthi Venkatesh
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