The Influence of Cognitive Simplification Processes on the Ceo Succession Decision

This paper addresses the inconsistencies in the outsider/insider CEO succession literature by conceptualizing the CEO succession decision as a complex strategic process. Our model integrates a set of variables which have not been previously considered in CEO succession literature but which, due to their demonstrated prevalence in strategic decision making may be important. Our propositions are predicated on the fact that selecting a new CEO is a complex and ambiguous process where decision makers, in order to navigate uncertainty, draw upon simplification processes, and thereby construct a simplified model of reality. Our paper identifies the influence of organizational memory, organization culture, media framing, recency effects, and operational reach on decision makers, and specifically their role in constructing simplification heuristics within the CEO selection process.