George Mason University Research Finds CEOs from Former Frontier Areas Drive Innovation

Background

A recent study by George Mason University’s Lei Gao and his co-researchers has shed new light on the relationship between CEOs’ birthplaces and their firms’ innovation rates. The team collected birthplace data on 1,777 U.S.-born CEOs and analyzed how many decades each leader’s hometown had spent on or near the frontier during the country’s westward expansion.

Methodology

Gao and his team examined accounting and patent databases to determine if there was a correlation between a CEO’s birthplace and their firm’s patent output. Specifically, they looked at the number of patents awarded to firms led by CEOs from different regions and the frequency and value of those patents in the marketplace.

Results

The researchers found that firms led by CEOs from longtime frontier counties were awarded more patents than other firms. Furthermore, these patents were cited more frequently and had greater value in the marketplace. The data suggests that CEOs from former frontier areas are more likely to lead firms that are innovative and successful.

Conclusion

The study concludes that firms led by CEOs from former U.S. frontier areas are awarded more patents. This finding has significant implications for organizations looking to increase their innovation and competitiveness. The research suggests that companies may want to consider factors such as a CEO’s birthplace when making hiring decisions.

FAQs

Q: What was the methodology used in the study?

A: The researchers collected birthplace data on 1,777 U.S.-born CEOs and examined accounting and patent databases to determine if there was a correlation between a CEO’s birthplace and their firm’s patent output.

Q: What were the key findings of the study?

A: The study found that firms led by CEOs from longtime frontier counties were awarded more patents than other firms, and those patents were cited more frequently and had greater value in the marketplace.

Q: What are the implications of the study’s findings?

A: The research suggests that companies may want to consider factors such as a CEO’s birthplace when making hiring decisions, as it may be indicative of their potential to lead innovative and successful firms.

Does Your Firm’s Culture Support Its Strategy?

A Challenging Question

Does your firm’s culture support its strategy? If not, you’ll need to retool your culture, and that’s not so easy to do. The values, beliefs, and norms that make it up are intangible and diffused throughout your organization, and employees tend to resist anything that threatens established behaviors and relationships.

The Challenge of Cultural Change

To figure out the secret to doing cultural change well, the authors examined how business leaders around the world approached it. They learned that successful ones didn’t begin with workshops, studies, or new HR policies. Instead, they began by creating stories highlighting actions that were deeply inconsistent with a firm’s established culture but reinforced an alternative culture more aligned with its strategies.

Authentic Stories

The most effective stories were authentic, featuring the leaders themselves, offered a break with the past and a path to the future, appealed to hearts and minds, and were dramatic and memorable.

Empowering Employees

Most critically, they empowered employees to begin crafting their own stories about cultural change so that everyone in the organization ended up co-creating a new culture together.

Cultural Change: The Bottom Line

The key takeaway is that cultural change requires leadership, not just a new set of policies or procedures. It requires creating a new narrative that aligns with the organization’s strategy and values, and empowering employees to write their own stories about the change. This can be a challenging and complex process, but the results can be transformative for the organization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, does your firm’s culture support its strategy? If not, it’s time to retool your culture. The key to successful cultural change is creating authentic stories that align with your organization’s values and strategy, and empowering employees to co-create a new culture.

FAQs

What is cultural change? Cultural change refers to the process of transforming an organization’s values, beliefs, and norms to better align with its strategy and goals.

Why is cultural change so challenging? Cultural change is challenging because it requires transforming the behaviors and relationships that are deeply ingrained in an organization, and employees tend to resist change.

What is the key to successful cultural change? The key to successful cultural change is creating authentic stories that align with the organization’s values and strategy, and empowering employees to co-create a new culture.