【公开学术报告-第124期】Does the Rise of Robots Lead to More Dominant Human Leaders?

Does the Rise of Robots Lead to More Dominant Human Leaders?

Guest Speaker: Bingyi QIN (CityU Hong Kong)

Date & Time: Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 10:00 - 11:30 am (Beijing Time)

Zoom Meeting ID: 88929675737 (Password: 449341)

Join via the Link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88929675737 

ABSTRACT

This study examines the impact of robotization on CEO dominance. We argue that adopting industrial robots can alleviate CEOs' capacity constraints in acquiring information, resulting in increased CEO dominance. Using a sample of 1,851 U.S. public firms, we find that CEOs in firms with greater robotization assume a more dominant role during earnings conference calls, particularly for firms operating with greater business diversification, with higher sales volatility, and led by relatively less experienced CEOs. Supporting our arguments, we further observe an increase in the quantitative content in CEOs’ answers and a reduction in non-answers from CEOs during the Q&A section, a decrease in the size of TMTs, and a larger pay gap between CEOs and the rest of the TMTs, in association with robot adoption.

Keywords: CEO dominance; Robotization; Strategic Leadership; Organizational structure; Conference call