When people shake their heads doubtfully and warn that a newly appointed chief executive “has big shoes to fill”, they are right to be sceptical, according to academics.
Bosses whose predecessors were regarded as stars are more likely to be sacked for underperformance than those who take over from more pedestrian chiefs, according to researchers at University of Miami Business School. And the bigger the perception of stardom of the outgoing boss, the quicker the axe can fall for their successor.
Academics led by Miguel Minutti-Meza examined more than 2,000 chief executive handovers in 1,500 American corporations from 1993 to 2017. They found an inverse correlation between the performance of the predecessor boss and the tenure of their successor. The greater the performance of chief
