Each year major business media outlets rank CEOs based on their performance. The few who win awards and earn the highest ranking become superstar CEOs — they gain visibility and higher social recognition, and they may even earn higher compensation. Award-winning CEOs also tend to capitalize on their fame by assuming more board seats and writing books.
Research: When CEOs Don’t Win Awards, They Make More Acquisitions
Each year, major business media outlets rank CEOs based on their performance. The few who win awards and earn the highest ranking become superstar CEOs. But for every happy award-winning CEO, there are many more CEOs who do not win. A study investigates whether or not winning influences their behavior. Looking at CEO awards granted by Business Week, Financial World Gold/Silver Awards, Forbes, Chief Executive, and Harvard Business Review, researchers identified over 200 superstar CEOs of S&P 1500 firms in the U.S. from 1996-2010, as well as 1,450 of their competitors. They found that competitor CEOs’ firms conducted more intensive acquisitions in the years after not winning an award. Their findings have important practical implications for shareholders and boards of directors.