Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Payoffs of Championing "Tough Issues": Why Corporations Need to Nurture Quixotic Champions at the Board and Within Senior Management Teams

McInterney-Lacombe, Nancy E.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1568731826883409

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Weatherhead School of Management.
When tough issues, defined as problems that remain uncomfortably unspoken, are championed at the board or in the executive suite, the question is: who does it, why and with what results? Three separate studies were carried out to investigate the championing phenomenon. First, an initial conceptual framework was built using grounded theory from five senior female director interviews and a review of the literature. I learned that certain conditions prompted the championing and determined the positive outcomes for the team and the champion. These initial findings supported the design of the next qualitative study involving 22 directors - 11 men and 11 women. The study identified similarities and differences among men and women relating to the preconditions to champion and the engagement tactics employed by each group. Consistent with the literature, women championed twice the tough issues as the men, but both men and women championed very tough issues, mostly relating to problems with the CEO. The benefits to the board and the champion did outweigh the difficulties of the championing process. The third study included a quantitative study involving over 400 senior executives and it investigated tough issues from the opposite side of the board table – the senior management team. The study identified the effects of six key antecedents increasing the propensity to tackle the tough issue and four mediating tactics that were used to engage the team on the issue. The results confirm some qualitative findings – women were the more likely champion and used different championing tactics. Payoffs from the championing process were consistent with previous findings.
Diana Bilimoria, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Paul Salipante, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Management; Womens Studies
tough issues; champion; positive deviance; board of directors; senior management team; women

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McInterney-Lacombe, N. E. (2010). Payoffs of Championing "Tough Issues": Why Corporations Need to Nurture Quixotic Champions at the Board and Within Senior Management Teams [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1568731826883409

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McInterney-Lacombe, Nancy. Payoffs of Championing "Tough Issues": Why Corporations Need to Nurture Quixotic Champions at the Board and Within Senior Management Teams. 2010. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1568731826883409.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McInterney-Lacombe, Nancy. "Payoffs of Championing "Tough Issues": Why Corporations Need to Nurture Quixotic Champions at the Board and Within Senior Management Teams." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casedm1568731826883409

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

casedm1568731826883409
171
This document is provided by Case Western Reserve University Doctor of Management for research and educational purposes, and may be under copyright by the author or the author's heirs. Please contact the ETD Center administrator at Case Western Reserve University Doctor of Management mac29@case.edu with any questions or comments. In your email, be sure to include the URL and title of the specific items you are inquiring about.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University Doctor of Management and OhioLINK.