Negative performance feedback and chief innovation officer adoption in top management teams: the role of CEO characteristics

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116310

This study employs a performance feedback perspective to explore when firms are more inclined to appoint a chief innovation officer to their top management teams. It draws on the behavioral theory of the firm to argue that performance–aspiration gaps are key factors in the decision to add a chief innovation officer to top management teams, and it examines a panel dataset of 280 U.S. firms primarily focused on research and development to find strong support for the proposed hypotheses. The research provides further insights into how firms consider their historical and social aspirations when deciding whether to appoint a chief innovation officer to their top management teams, and how the CEO’s experience as an outsider and additional responsibilities as the board-chair intensify these effects. The findings contribute to the literature on top management teams, the behavioral theory of the firm, and innovation governance.