Marketing

Process (computing)

Philosophy

Ecology

Biology

Public relations

Ecological succession

Accounting

Operating system

Strategic leadership

Succession planning

Economics

Computer science

Business

Corporate governance

Empirical research

Process management

Management

Political science

Epistemology

Artificial intelligence

Perspective (graphical)

Strategic planning

Academy of Management Perspectives

Executive leadership changes are critical turning points for organizations. Over the past five decades, management scholars have generated many insights into the predictors, consequences, and contingencies of CEO succession. We first provide an overview of this research, integrating strategic management, corporate governance, strategic leadership, and organizational behavior research findings into a comprehensive framework. We find that empirical research has frequently adopted an event-based perspective on CEO succession, which is contrary to the practical evidence regarding CEO succession as a continuous process. In the second part of our paper, we develop a future research agenda for the CEO succession process. We specifically address the role of board–CEO collaborations and potential frictions during the CEO succession process. Our suggestions will help researchers gain a better understanding of boards’ governance of executive succession processes. These suggestions also have implications for directors responsible for CEO succession.

A Review of the CEO Succession Literature and a Future Research Program