Does the Rise of Robots Lead to More Dominant Human Leaders
Abstract
This study examines the impact of robotization on CEO dominance. We argue that adopting industrial robots can alleviate CEOs’ capacity constraints in acquiring information, resulting in increased CEO dominance. Using a sample of 1,851 U.S. public firms, we find that CEOs in firms with greater robotization assume a more dominant role during earnings conference calls, particularly for firms operating with greater business diversification, with higher sales volatility, and led by relatively less experienced CEOs. Supporting our arguments, we further observe an increase in the quantitative content in CEOs’ answers and a reduction in non-answers from CEOs during the Q&A section, a decrease in the size of TMTs, and a larger pay gap between CEOs and the rest of the TMTs, in association with robot adoption.
Speaker Biography
Guoli Chen is a Professor of Strategy, Mubadala Chair in Corporate Governance and Strategy at INSEAD. He teaches Competitive Strategy, Blue Ocean Strategy, Corporate Strategy, China Strategy and Corporate Governance to MBA, EMBA PhD and Executive participants.
Prof. Chen received his Ph.D. in strategic management from the Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the influence of top executives, boards of directors, and human capital on strategic choices and organizational outcomes. His work has been published in top academic journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal and among others. His articles and opinions also appear in newspapers and magazines, such as Barron’s, Bloomberg, Business Times, CFO, Channel News Asia, China Daily, Economist, Financial Times, Forbes, Harvard Business Review (online), South China Morning Post, Washington Post etc.
Prof. Chen served as various leadership positions at Corporate Strategy, Strategic Leadership and Governance Interest Groups of SMS, Research and Executive committee member for the AOM’s STR division. He also served as a senior editor of Organization Science, Management and Organization Review, and contributing editor of Strategy Science. Guoli published several best-selling cases on Chinese companies, such as “Huawei’s smartphone strategy”, “Uber vs. Didi”, “Shein vs Zara”. He was recognized as The Case Centre’s Top 50 Bestselling Case Authors. His recent book “Seeing the Unseen: Behind Chinese Tech Giants’ Global Venturing” studies how Chinese internet firms innovate and grow, their strategic mindsets, and challenges faced in overseas markets.
Prof. Chen has won the Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Strategic Management, and Singapore’s Most Influential Business Professors aged 40.