The impact of CEO characteristics on organizational performance: The case of the U.S. biotechnology industry

Abstract

The goal of this study is to establish the relation between firm’s performance and characteristics of CEOs in the US biotechnology industry. Key objectives of the research are as follows: analysis of the previous research on the link between executives’ characteristics and companies’ performance, analysis of the characteristics of the biotechnology industry to define aspects of a volatile environment, conducting the empirical research in order to establish the relation of CEO characteristics and companies’ performance in the volatile environment. In the course of the research it was determined that, in the US biotechnology companies there is no relation between company performance and such CEO characteristic as business education. St the same time, there is a positive relation between company performance and CEO tenure in the company, researcher role, and significant experience outside the biotechnology industry.