TY - JOUR

T1 - Appointing female CEOs in risky and precarious firm circumstances.

T2 - A review of the glass cliff phenomenon

AU - Velte, Patrick

PY - 2018/1/1

Y1 - 2018/1/1

N2 - Following thirty years of discussion of the “glass ceiling,” recentempirical research has focused on the relatively new phenomenonof women on the board of directors – the so-called “glass cliff.”This refers to a form of gender discrimination in which women aremore often appointed to leadership positions in risky andprecarious business circumstances than their male counterparts.Highlighting the key findings of current quantitative andqualitative research, this literature review assesses existingsupport for the glass cliff hypothesis and the limitations ofempirical research and recommendations. Most of the includedstudies find support for the glass cliff, in which “think crisis, thinkfemale” stereotypes complement the traditional “think leadership,think male” approach. As archival and other studies have beenconducted predominantly in Anglo-American countries, futureresearch should extend to other methods and settings. In contrastto the recent literature, the present review draws a cleardistinction between archival, experimental and qualitativeresearch, so increasing interest and relevance for practitioners,regulators and researchers.

AB - Following thirty years of discussion of the “glass ceiling,” recentempirical research has focused on the relatively new phenomenonof women on the board of directors – the so-called “glass cliff.”This refers to a form of gender discrimination in which women aremore often appointed to leadership positions in risky andprecarious business circumstances than their male counterparts.Highlighting the key findings of current quantitative andqualitative research, this literature review assesses existingsupport for the glass cliff hypothesis and the limitations ofempirical research and recommendations. Most of the includedstudies find support for the glass cliff, in which “think crisis, thinkfemale” stereotypes complement the traditional “think leadership,think male” approach. As archival and other studies have beenconducted predominantly in Anglo-American countries, futureresearch should extend to other methods and settings. In contrastto the recent literature, the present review draws a cleardistinction between archival, experimental and qualitativeresearch, so increasing interest and relevance for practitioners,regulators and researchers.

KW - Management studies

KW - Gender Diversity

KW - Corporate Governance

KW - Firm Performance

KW - Glass Ceiling

KW - Board of Directors

KW - Gender and Diversity

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/92aeeeaf-ae39-3b19-8ed3-1c9d1813db48/

U2 - 10.22495/cocv15i2art3

DO - 10.22495/cocv15i2art3

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 15

SP - 33

EP - 43

JO - Corporate Ownership & Control

JF - Corporate Ownership & Control

SN - 1727-9232

IS - 2

ER -