News Archive 2014

The Executive Time Use Project
What do CEOs do all day?

Markerplace's Sally Herships interviewed Professor Andrea Prat from Columbia University, who is one of the principal investigator of STICERD's Executive Time Use Project. In the article from November 10th, Prat points out that CEOs spend most of their days in meetings. And, he notes, most of the meetings are with employees inside the company. Contrary to common belief, he says that the more time a CEO spends in meetings with his or her employees, the better the company does.

The Executive Time Use Project is an international data collection effort to analyze how corporate leaders in the US, Europe and Asia organiser their working time. It generates reports that help policy makers understand the behaviour and the priorities of top corporate leaders.

Marketplace
What do CEOs do all day?

Corporate titans, leaders of Fortune 500 companies, wearers of starched white shirts, winners of enormous paychecks and occupiers of corner offices with imposing black desks and gleaming glass views. It's easy to conjure images of CEOs in offices... but what, exactly, is it that they do in there all day?

This article was published by Marketplace on 10th November 2014. Link to full article

Related publications:

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).

Wall Street Journal
Do CEOs of Family-Owned Businesses Work Less?

What's the difference between a family firm and a regular business? According to one new study, an empty corner office.

Professors at Harvard Business School, the London School of Economics and Columbia University's business school examined the schedules of 356 chief executives in India and found that family CEOs worked 8% fewer hours than managers without genetic ties to their companies. The researchers found similar disparities in Brazil, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the U.S.

This article was published by The Wall Street Journal on 4 March 2014. Link to full article

Related publications:

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).

Harvard Business School: Working Knowledge
Family CEOs Spend Less Time at Work

Two years ago, the World Management Survey on organizational leadership reported that firms led by family CEOs (managers related to the family owning the business) are often managed badly, particularly those where a first-born son has inherited the role of CEO from the previous leader.

Now comes additional research showing that on average, family CEOs also work significantly fewer hours per week than other (nonfamily affiliated) CEOs. It's an important finding because longer working hours are associated with higher firm productivity and growth, says Raffaella Sadun, an assistant professor in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School who studies the curious relationship between managerial incentives and motivation.

This article was published by Harvard Business School Working Knowledge on 27 January 2014. Link to full article

Related publications:

Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work? by Oriana Bandiera (LSE) Andrea Prat (Columbia) Raffaella Sadun (HBS).