How a CEO Change Affects Firm Performance Depends on the Industry

When a company replaces its chief executive, does performance improve or decline? Three McCoy College of Business faculty members are examining that question across industries. Their paper was presented at the 55th Annual Southwest Decision Sciences Institute Conference in Dallas in March 2026 and is listed as in press.

The authors are Peiqin Zhang, Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics, Francis A. Mendez, Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics, and David C. Wierschem, Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics.

The study

No abstract or full text is publicly available yet, so this summary is limited to what the title conveys. The study looks at the effect of CEO turnover on firm performance and breaks that effect down by industry. It also tests two sets of moderators: the characteristics of the incoming CEO and the characteristics of the top management team, often called the TMT.

A moderator is a factor that changes the strength or direction of an effect. Here the question is whether the same CEO change plays out differently depending on who the new leader is and who is already on the senior team.

Why the question matters

The same authors have studied this topic before. In 2016 they published an analysis of CEO turnover in information technology firms in the Journal of International Technology and Information Management. The new paper appears to widen that lens to compare industries.

For boards, the practical interest is clear. A leadership change is costly and disruptive. Boards would benefit from knowing whether the industry, the successor’s profile, or the existing team shapes the result. That knowledge would help them plan successions and set expectations for a new CEO’s first years.

What to watch for

Until the paper is published, the direction and size of the effects are unknown. Readers should look for the full article to learn which industries show gains after turnover, which show losses, and which incoming CEO and team traits make the difference.

This summary is based on the paper’s title and its conference listing only. No abstract or full text was available at the time of writing.

What it means for managers

• The study's premise is that a CEO change does not have one uniform effect. Boards should expect the outcome to differ by industry.
• Who arrives matters, not only who leaves. The characteristics of the incoming CEO and the existing top team are the proposed moderators.
• Findings are not yet published. Treat this as a research question in progress until the full paper appears.

Zhang, P., Mendez, F. A., & Wierschem, D. C. (2026). An analysis of CEO turnover effect on firm performance by industry: The moderating role of incoming CEO and TMT characteristics. Paper presented at the 55th Annual Southwest Decision Sciences Institute Conference, Dallas, TX, March 18–21.