Cognition and Gender Diversity in Top Management Teams - A Comprehensive Analysis of Top Management Team Communication and Linguistic Patterns

This thesis explores the nuanced interplay between cognition and gender diversity within top management teams (TMTs). It elucidates its implications for organizational outcomes, underlying mechanisms, and connection to strategic top management communication (STMC). The comprehensive review of existing research on gender diversity and cognition within TMTs emphasizes the interconnections between gender diversity and cognition. Additionally, it proposes a robust research agenda to conceptualize future inquiries into the decision-making process, drawing insights from the concept of path dependency in organizational decision-making. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the first paper synthesizes prior works spanning strategic management, psychology, and social sciences, focusing primarily on publications featured in the Financial Times FT-50 Ranking. Despite the considerable attention TMTs have garnered in scholarly circles, the nexus between TMT diversity and cognition still needs to be explored. Given how this nexus shapes decision-making, this research gap presents ample opportunities for theoretical and methodological advancement and is relevant. The paper contends that understanding these linkages is essential for gaining deeper insights into TMT decision-making processes and underscores the need for further exploration in this domain. Furthermore, my conceptual inquiry delves into the nuanced dynamics of STMC and its impact on organizational performance. I construct a comprehensive management communication model through meticulous analysis, offering insights into the interplay of communication among top-tier executives and the determinants shaping its outcomes. The research framework focuses on CEO-CFO tandems and the influence of gender diversity on STMC dynamics. By integrating insights from communications and upper echelons research, my model advances the understanding of management communication processes and contributes to strategic management and communication domains. The STMC model holds promise for enhancing organizational communication practices and achieving superior business outcomes. While existing literature extensively examines gender disparities' effects on corporate disclosures, less attention is given to women's impact on STMC linguistics – even though other research streams indicate that women communicate differently in certain situations. TMT communication styles reflect cognitive frameworks and power dynamics within executive suites. This empirical study investigates gender disparities in linguistic choices of female and male CFOs during earnings conference calls, analyzing tone, uncertainty, and complexity. Using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) methodology on a unique dataset of 294 quarterly earnings calls from Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) constituents (2016-2020), the findings reveal manager- and gender-specific linguistic patterns. Unlike prior CEO-focused research, this study shows a linguistic divergence between female and male CFOs, with female CFOs using less favorable language and exhibiting linguistic simplicity. Additionally, female CFOs demonstrate reduced linguistic complexity compared to their male counterparts. This research enriches the understanding of TMT communication dynamics, highlighting the distinct influence of female board representation on corporate communication practices and bearing implications for the level of positivity and detail that can be expected depending on the gender of the CFO. In summary, this comprehensive inquiry contributes significant insights to the fields of TMT gender diversity and cognition as well as STMC in organizational contexts, offering valuable avenues for future research and theoretical development.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

PhD

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

De Montfort University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Müller-Horn, Fabian

Licence

• https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/bitstreams/51c8ee28-f101-497f-9347-3d2df280a7d4/download