Managerial Power and Tenure in the Large Corporation

This research examines the relationship of managerial power, in terms of the stockholdings of both the chief executive officer and other directors, to the length of managerial tenure among 218 large industrial corporations. Analysis of covariance is employed to assess the effects of different control configurations on the length of tenure, controlling for the simultaneous effects of corporate size and performance. On the basis of this analysis, it is evident that significant stock ownership by the chief executive officer is associated with longer tenure; but significant stock ownership by other directors is not associated with shorter tenure. Also, there are no consistent relationships between the control configuration variables and either the age of the chief executive officer or his years of service with the corporation. Finally, the relationship between managerial power and tenure obtains even when the chief executive officer controls only a relatively small block of stock.