THE IMPACT OF TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM CHARACTERISTICS ON CORPORATE REFOCUSING IN U.S. FIRMS

Refocusing was one of the major strategies pursued by large U.S. organizations in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Our study extends the studies of previous research in the upper echelons field by examining the relationship between top management team (TMT) traits and corporate refocusing. Our results reveal that higher average age is positively related to two measures of refocusing, namely, downsizing and change in core business. Organizational tenure is negatively related to change in core business, and mean educational level is positively related to change in core business. There was no relationship between these demographic traits and productivity, the third measure of refocusing.