Working Paper: NBER ID: w14195
Authors: Steven N. Kaplan; Mark M. Klebanov; Morten Sorensen
Abstract: We study the characteristics and abilities of CEO candidates for companies involved in buyout (LBO) and venture capital (VC) transactions and relate them to hiring decisions, investment decisions, and company performance. Candidates are assessed on more than thirty individual abilities. The abilities are highly correlated; a factor analysis suggests there are two primary factors with intuitive characterizations -- one for general ability and one that contrasts team-related, interpersonal skills with execution skills. Both LBO and VC firms are more likely to hire and invest in CEOs with greater general abilities, both execution- and team-related. Success, however, is more strongly related to execution skills than to team-related skills. Success is, at best, only marginally related to incumbency, holding observable talent and ability constant.
Keywords: CEO characteristics; hiring decisions; investment decisions; company performance
JEL Codes: D21; D23; G24; G3
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| CEO characteristics and abilities (M12) | hiring decisions (M51) |
| greater general abilities (C12) | likelihood of being hired (M51) |
| execution-related skills (M54) | success in LBO transactions (G34) |
| team-related skills (Y80) | success in LBO transactions (G34) |
| incumbency (G34) | success (Y60) |
| CEO characteristics of candidates not hired (M12) | outcomes (P47) |
| team-related skills (Y80) | hiring and investment decisions (M51) |