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Thesis advisor: Philip E. Strahan / In my first essay, I explain the rise of transferable managerial skills in the CEO market. I show that growing competition in the product markets is a key factor driving the increased importance of CEOs’ transferable managerial skills, specifically industry-transferable skills. To rule out the endogeneity of CEO-firm matching, I exploit the exogenous shocks of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 1989 and the deregulatory policy in the 1990s. I show that CEOs with these skills outperform in competitive markets and are a good match for firms’ innovation-based competition strategy. In my second essay, we explain why firms in the same board-interlock networks tend to have similar corporate governance practices. Specifically, we utilize a novel instrument based on staggered adoptions of universal demand laws across states to identify causal peer effects in firms’ decisions to adopt various governance provisions. We find that a firm’s propensity to adopt these provisions increases after other firms in the same board interlock network choose to adopt similar policies. The impact of universal demand laws on the incentives faced by directors as they seek to maximize their career outcomes is a likely mechanism explaining these effects. In my third essay, I identify the effects of the gender of CEOs’ offspring on corporate performance. First, acquisitions, debt and equity offerings made by CEOs with more daughters are better received by the market. Second, CEOs with more daughters are less likely to overpay the targets, and better use newly raised capital. Third, CEOs’ daughter(s) decrease(s) corporate litigation risk. In sum, the gender of a child is arguably a random and natural experiment, which shows a clear effect on CEOs’ behavior. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

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abstract: This paper examines whether CEOs with general managerial skills are better at achieving the goals of external communication. Using the General Ability Index developed by Custodio, Ferreira, and Matos (2013) to measure CEOs' general managerial skills, I find that firms with generalist CEOs are more likely to obtain the desired outcomes of communication, including the smaller difference between analyst forecasts and management guidance, less dispersion in analyst forecasts, higher analyst following, and higher institutional ownership, after controlling for CEO talent and the impact of Regulation FD. Moreover, I provide direct evidence that general managerial skills are more important to external communication under poor information environments. I also investigate the characteristics of analysts who follow firms with generalists, and my findings suggest the private interaction with analysts is an important communication channel for generalists. Finally, I find that generalists are able to attract dedicated investors and gain long-term capital for their firms. Overall, I provide evidence on the growing importance of general managerial skills in external communication. This paper offers new insights into why CEOs with general skills are paid at a premium over those with specific skills, as documented in previous studies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Accountancy 2015

The master thesis presented deals with the  question of whether superiors in the engineering field in Germany should undergo managerial training to be better-suited managers than superiors without such training. This thesis looks into this question through a survey of a homogenous group of engineering professionals working in Germany. The survey strives to gain information from the engineering professionals regarding their opinions and experience as managers with and/or without managerial training and their capacity to fulfill their managerial duties. This problem resonates widely in the engineering world, yet it seems that not enough action is being taken towards educating personnel in elevated positions throughout a company’s hierarchy.

This dissertation studies internal and external factors affecting firm outcomes. The first two chapters explore the sources of variation in managerial skill within an Indian life insurance firm. The existing literature has investigated the association between managerial productivity and management practices across firms, but has largely overlooked how individual traits and skills affect managerial performance. Intra-firm variation in managerial productivity allows us to study managerial skill without the confounded effects of variation in management practices. The third chapter models how external technological change affects competition between media firms, and what that implies for information availability in a society. For the first two chapters, I use a novel dataset drawn from a life insurance firm in India, with 211 managers, each leading a sales team of insurance agents. Chapter 1 studies the sources of large variation in performance across teams. I find that the performance of newly recruited agents is positively correlated with the managers' past team productivity index. I also observe that when agents move across teams in the firm's internal labor market, there is no change in the output of such agents, except when they join the team of a high performing manager (in the top decile of team performance). This allows me to infer that most managers differ from along their recruiting skill, whereas the high performers are able to provide some form of managerial contribution to productivity such as training, supervision or guidance. Chapter 2 examines the dynamics of managerial skills in this firm. I distinguish between internally-hired managers who were working previously as agents in the firm, and externally-hired managers, who joined the firm directly as managers. I find that the teams of internally-hired managers are 14% more productive, but that the teams of externally-hired managers catch up in a span of six to seven years. Among different mechanisms, I find evidence that the managers differ in the recruitment of good workers and also in the contribution to the output of their workers. Further, I find evidence that the externally-hired managers learn how to recruit good workers. This is the first study to show evidence supporting learning-by-doing on part of managers. The third chapter, co-authored with Benjamin Ogden, develops a model of endogenous media polarization- or, product differentiation among news sources- to study how this affects political outcomes. We show that under internet-based technology, where users provide additional values when they are served their preferred content, media firms would have an incentive to skew their content, leading to divergence. However, the degree of divergence will depend on the distribution of audience. Under reasonable restrictions on the distribution of voters, informed political choices are implemented. The model demonstrates why increasing media polarization does not necessarily lead to incorrect political outcomes and may in fact create conditions for correct policy choice.

To achieve poverty alleviation as stated by the UN’s global goals and agenda 2030 more research in the field is needed. The MSME segment has a vital role to play for economic growth in developing countries. However, no clear growth has been seen for these enterprises even though much aid has been given. Efforts to create a business training system has been made but will play a bigger role in the future.  Thru a comparative cross-sectional study it is showcased what skills are connected to enterprise growth. This study aims to help explain what managerial skills should be further investigated when it comes to investing time and resources in business training systems. By interviewing the MSME managers on site and discussing the matter with CEO’s of business training organizations unique data was collected. With the help of NVivo software data is processed and categorized. Final correlations to growth by examining the differences between growing and non-growing managers skills in different fields.  Similarities in skills prioritized between managers in growing and non-growing was detected. Findings suggest that business plan and accounting skills are more present in growing enterprises. Ultimately the differences were not enough to demonstrate managerial skill as a strong contributor to enterprise growth.

Vienas iš svarbiausių vadybos uždavinių yra darbuotojų ugdymas t.y. jų bendrųjų ir specialiųjų kompetencijų (gebėjimų) tobulinimas. Šio darbo tikslas - ištirti smulkių ir mikro įmonių vadybinį darbą dirbančių darbuotojų ir jų darbdavių požiūrį į darbuotojų vadybinius gebėjimus ir jų tobulinimo galimybes, bei remiantis gautais rezultatais suformuoti vadybinių gebėjimų modelį. Šio darbo metu gauti rezultatai naudingi mažoms ir mikro įmonėms, bei jų vadovams, kadangi išryškinti darbuotojų vadybinių gebėjimų trūkumai ir privalumai, padėsiantys vadovus daugiau dėmesio atkreipti į problemines sritis. Tuo pačiu remiantis teorine mokslinės literatūros analize, bei praktiniu tyrimo suformuotas vadybinių gebėjimų modelis. / One of the most important management tasks is employees’ development that means their general and specific competences (skills) improvement. The goal of this work is to survey small and micro enterprises employees which do managerial work and their employers attitude to employees managerial skills and its improvement possibilities. Also according to obtained results to form managerial skills model. The results of this work will be useful to small and micro enterprises and their managers, because there will be spot employees managerial skills disadvantage and advantage, which will help to put more attention on problematic fields. Furthermore, according to the scientific literature and the survey to form managerial skills model.

The age of industrialisation in the nineteenth century and the subsequent emergence of large corporations called for new approaches to the way in which organisations are managed. Business today operates in a world of constant change. Technology and society are changing more rapidly than ever before. The workplace has become increasingly diverse, as pressure is mounting for the previously disadvantaged and women to ascend the echelons of organisations. Concern for the environment has forced companies to think about how their actions affect the quality of the air, land, and water. Competition is more fierce than ever, because companies from all over the world now try to sell their products and services to the same customers. All these changes not only require of those who manage these organisations to be in procession of relevant professional skills, but it also require of them to be competent in conducting their business of managing. The aim of the study was to construct a conceptual framework to measure the identified skills for management competence. The study builds a conceptual framework using identified skills and also presents the interrelationships between the skills. The primary theoretical background and concepts about skills for managerial competence for this study, range from the historical perspective of MBA education as it is the cutting edge of business education to management models identified from the literature. The extensive review of the literature and three different management models and the key common managerial competencies led to the development of an initial model based on the literature wherein the required skills for managerial competence were identified as self awareness skills (SA), self directed career planning skills (SP), general interactive skills (IS), planning and control skills (PC), organising skills (OS), leading skills (LS), and managing change skills (MC). The empirical study which followed was conducted among a sample of 395 business administration students from the three campuses of the North West University business school in Mafikeng and the Potchefstroom Business School. The empirical study based on the seven skills for managerial competence yielded results that measured the strength of each managerial skill and the interrelationship among different skills. The results were analysed by the process of factor analysis and it was clear from the analysis that there are a number of unreliable factors which led to a number of questions having to be discarded. As a result the original model had to be restructured to develop an alternative managerial skill model. After the initial model was restructured, the results wherein thirteen factors loaded heavily on the factor were realised. Of the thirteen factors, factor 1 had nineteen factors that loaded heavy and had to be restructured again in order to make sense of the data. Once a further restructuring was done the results were that factor 1 had three sub factors that loaded heavy on the factor which led to the conclusion that the alternative managerial skill model comprised thirteen factors wherein factor 1 had three sub factors. The value of the study lies in the fact that managerial models identified in the literature are orthodox in nature, and they do not progress further to explore skills for managerial competence. Given the orthodox nature of models identified in the literature, this study purports to suggest a framework that could be adapted to measure skills for management competence. This study further contributes to the discipline of organisational leadership and management, particularly with regard to practices regarding leader and manager development within the context of a dynamic, changing organisational environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The age of industrialisation in the nineteenth century and the subsequent emergence of large corporations called for new approaches to the way in which organisations are managed. Business today operates in a world of constant change. Technology and society are changing more rapidly than ever before. The workplace has become increasingly diverse, as pressure is mounting for the previously disadvantaged and women to ascend the echelons of organisations. Concern for the environment has forced companies to think about how their actions affect the quality of the air, land, and water. Competition is more fierce than ever, because companies from all over the world now try to sell their products and services to the same customers. All these changes not only require of those who manage these organisations to be in procession of relevant professional skills, but it also require of them to be competent in conducting their business of managing. The aim of the study was to construct a conceptual framework to measure the identified skills for management competence. The study builds a conceptual framework using identified skills and also presents the interrelationships between the skills. The primary theoretical background and concepts about skills for managerial competence for this study, range from the historical perspective of MBA education as it is the cutting edge of business education to management models identified from the literature. The extensive review of the literature and three different management models and the key common managerial competencies led to the development of an initial model based on the literature wherein the required skills for managerial competence were identified as self awareness skills (SA), self directed career planning skills (SP), general interactive skills (IS), planning and control skills (PC), organising skills (OS), leading skills (LS), and managing change skills (MC). The empirical study which followed was conducted among a sample of 395 business administration students from the three campuses of the North West University business school in Mafikeng and the Potchefstroom Business School. The empirical study based on the seven skills for managerial competence yielded results that measured the strength of each managerial skill and the interrelationship among different skills. The results were analysed by the process of factor analysis and it was clear from the analysis that there are a number of unreliable factors which led to a number of questions having to be discarded. As a result the original model had to be restructured to develop an alternative managerial skill model. After the initial model was restructured, the results wherein thirteen factors loaded heavily on the factor were realised. Of the thirteen factors, factor 1 had nineteen factors that loaded heavy and had to be restructured again in order to make sense of the data. Once a further restructuring was done the results were that factor 1 had three sub factors that loaded heavy on the factor which led to the conclusion that the alternative managerial skill model comprised thirteen factors wherein factor 1 had three sub factors. The value of the study lies in the fact that managerial models identified in the literature are orthodox in nature, and they do not progress further to explore skills for managerial competence. Given the orthodox nature of models identified in the literature, this study purports to suggest a framework that could be adapted to measure skills for management competence. This study further contributes to the discipline of organisational leadership and management, particularly with regard to practices regarding leader and manager development within the context of a dynamic, changing organisational environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.