{"title":"保守的矛盾?国家党派冲突中CEO政治意识形态对战略冒险的影响","authors":"Kerry Hudson","doi":"10.1016/j.lrp.2025.102584","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing polarization in U.S. politics has led the economics and finance literatures to examine its macroeconomic implications, revealing a counterintuitive effect: national partisan conflict reduces macroeconomic volatility, creating legislative gridlock that lowers investors' perceptions of risk. However, implications for management remain unclear, as no research has sought to explain heterogeneity in firms' responses to this phenomenon. We theorize that this occurs because partisan conflict induces shifts in strategic risk-taking, contingent upon differences in CEOs' risk aversion and cognitive disposition. Drawing on upper echelons theory, we hypothesize that conservative CEOs, who are typically risk averse, will be more willing to take strategic risks under the macroeconomic conditions associated with partisan conflict. A study of 375 firms from 2000 to 2022 supports this, showing a shift towards higher-risk strategies among conservative CEOs when partisan conflict is high. This effect is robust to industry effects and independent from other political and economic uncertainties. Additional analyses indicate that this is driven by CEOs' disposition rather than party bias, supporting an ideologically asymmetric, environmentally contingent mechanism whereby shifts in partisan conflict increase the significance of the attentional and cognitive tendencies associated with conservatism in determining firm-level risk-taking. These findings extend the managerial relevance of macro-level research on partisan conflict, offering theoretical explanations that evince its ostensibly unpredictable effects on firms’ strategic investment decisions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18141,"journal":{"name":"Long Range Planning","volume":"58 6","pages":"Article 102584"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"A conservative contradiction? The effect of CEO political ideology on strategic risk-taking during national partisan conflict\",\"authors\":\"Kerry Hudson\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.lrp.2025.102584\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>Increasing polarization in U.S. politics has led the economics and finance literatures to examine its macroeconomic implications, revealing a counterintuitive effect: national partisan conflict reduces macroeconomic volatility, creating legislative gridlock that lowers investors' perceptions of risk. However, implications for management remain unclear, as no research has sought to explain heterogeneity in firms' responses to this phenomenon. We theorize that this occurs because partisan conflict induces shifts in strategic risk-taking, contingent upon differences in CEOs' risk aversion and cognitive disposition. Drawing on upper echelons theory, we hypothesize that conservative CEOs, who are typically risk averse, will be more willing to take strategic risks under the macroeconomic conditions associated with partisan conflict. A study of 375 firms from 2000 to 2022 supports this, showing a shift towards higher-risk strategies among conservative CEOs when partisan conflict is high. This effect is robust to industry effects and independent from other political and economic uncertainties. Additional analyses indicate that this is driven by CEOs' disposition rather than party bias, supporting an ideologically asymmetric, environmentally contingent mechanism whereby shifts in partisan conflict increase the significance of the attentional and cognitive tendencies associated with conservatism in determining firm-level risk-taking. These findings extend the managerial relevance of macro-level research on partisan conflict, offering theoretical explanations that evince its ostensibly unpredictable effects on firms’ strategic investment decisions.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":18141,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Long Range Planning\",\"volume\":\"58 6\",\"pages\":\"Article 102584\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":6.3000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-10-03\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Long Range Planning\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"91\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024630125000871\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"管理学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"BUSINESS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Long Range Planning","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024630125000871","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
A conservative contradiction? The effect of CEO political ideology on strategic risk-taking during national partisan conflict
Increasing polarization in U.S. politics has led the economics and finance literatures to examine its macroeconomic implications, revealing a counterintuitive effect: national partisan conflict reduces macroeconomic volatility, creating legislative gridlock that lowers investors' perceptions of risk. However, implications for management remain unclear, as no research has sought to explain heterogeneity in firms' responses to this phenomenon. We theorize that this occurs because partisan conflict induces shifts in strategic risk-taking, contingent upon differences in CEOs' risk aversion and cognitive disposition. Drawing on upper echelons theory, we hypothesize that conservative CEOs, who are typically risk averse, will be more willing to take strategic risks under the macroeconomic conditions associated with partisan conflict. A study of 375 firms from 2000 to 2022 supports this, showing a shift towards higher-risk strategies among conservative CEOs when partisan conflict is high. This effect is robust to industry effects and independent from other political and economic uncertainties. Additional analyses indicate that this is driven by CEOs' disposition rather than party bias, supporting an ideologically asymmetric, environmentally contingent mechanism whereby shifts in partisan conflict increase the significance of the attentional and cognitive tendencies associated with conservatism in determining firm-level risk-taking. These findings extend the managerial relevance of macro-level research on partisan conflict, offering theoretical explanations that evince its ostensibly unpredictable effects on firms’ strategic investment decisions.
期刊介绍:
Long Range Planning (LRP) is an internationally renowned journal specializing in the field of strategic management. Since its establishment in 1968, the journal has consistently published original research, garnering a strong reputation among academics. LRP actively encourages the submission of articles that involve empirical research and theoretical perspectives, including studies that provide critical assessments and analysis of the current state of knowledge in crucial strategic areas. The primary user base of LRP primarily comprises individuals from academic backgrounds, with the journal playing a dual role within this community. Firstly, it serves as a platform for the dissemination of research findings among academic researchers. Secondly, it serves as a channel for the transmission of ideas that can be effectively utilized in educational settings. The articles published in LRP cater to a diverse audience, including practicing managers and students in professional programs. While some articles may focus on practical applications, others may primarily target academic researchers. LRP adopts an inclusive approach to empirical research, accepting studies that draw on various methodologies such as primary survey data, archival data, case studies, and recognized approaches to data collection.