Working Paper: NBER ID: w10507
Authors: Peter Cappelli; Monika Hamori
Abstract: The analyses below compare the career histories and personal characteristics of the executives in the top ranks of the world's largest and most stable business operations, the Fortune 100, between 1980 and 2001. To our knowledge, there have been no prior studies of contemporary changes in the experience or attributes of executives beyond CEOs. In 2001, these executives were younger, more likely to be women, and less likely to have been Ivy League educated. Most important, they got to the executive suite about four years faster than in 1980 and did so by holding fewer jobs on the way to the top. (In particular, women in 2001 got to their executive jobs faster than their male counterparts --there were no women executives in the Fortune 100 in 1980). Executives in 2001 also spent about five years less in their current organization and were more likely to be hired from the outside than in 1980. Interestingly, the most stable firms the 26 that were in the Fortune 100 in both periods had just as much lifetime employment among executives in 2001 as in 1980, although changes in other aspects of careers were similar. Overall, the path to the executive suite and the attributes of the individuals who get there appear to have changed even in the largest and most stable business operations.
Keywords: executive careers; corporate executives; social mobility; Fortune 100
JEL Codes: J0; L2; M1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Executives in 1980 (M12) | Executives in 2001 were younger (M12) |
| Executives in 1980 (M12) | Executives in 2001 were more likely to be women (M12) |
| Women executives in 2001 (M12) | Women executives reached their roles faster than men (M12) |
| Executives in 1980 (M12) | Executives in 2001 spent about five years less in their current organization (L25) |
| Executives in 1980 (M12) | Executives in 2001 were more likely to be hired from outside (M51) |
| Executives in 1980 (M12) | Path to executive suite changed (J62) |