SUCCESSION AS A SOCIOPOLITICAL PROCESS - INTERNAL IMPEDIMENTS TO OUTSIDER SELECTION

Although traditional adaptive theory implies that poor organizational performance will directly increase the likelihood that an outsider wil l be selected to succeed a firm's chief executive, we develop theory t o suggest that sociopolitical forces, such as the presence or absence of an heir apparent and the incumbent's ability to influence the selec tion decision, will decouple the performance-selection relationship. W e predict that poor performance will lead to outsider selection only w hen sociopolitical forces are weak. Further, we consider the effects o f both return and risk on outsider selection. Empirical evidence from 472 succession events in large, publicly traded firms supports our hyp otheses about moderating sociopolitical forces.