Changing Ideological Regimes: CEO Succession with A Shift in Political Ideology and New CEO Early Departure

We examine the effects of CEO succession coupled with a change in political ideology – when a conservative CEO is replaced by a liberal CEO or vice versa. We argue that in such CEO transitions, the new CEOs must alter their predecessors’ ideological imprints to imbue strategic leadership with their own values, which increases their executive job demands in the critical early years of their tenure and raises the likelihood of their early departure. We also suggest that this relationship is moderated by two strategic leadership interface (SLI) factors that influence the executive job demands these new CEOs face: (a) the retention of the ideologically incongruent predecessor as board chair, and (b) the ideological fit between the new CEO and the incumbent executive team. We first test our framework using data from 2286 CEO successions in S&P 1500 firms. We then conduct an experimental study to ensure causality and confirm executive job demands as a mediating mechanism underlying the relationship. Overall, our study advances the disruption theory of succession by shedding light on the deeply held mechanisms that lead to early failure in CEO transitions.