The Role of Chief Executive Officer

The chief executive officer (CEO) holds one of the most important and influential roles in an organization, yet research on the role remains ambiguous, conflicted, and outdated. The purpose of this study was to address the gap between what is reported in the literature and what is known in current practice on the role of CEO. A major goal of this research was to use the insights provided by CEOs to improve our general understanding of the major roles played by CEOs and how they generally allocate their time in various critical functions. This research was also intended to serve those responsible for identifying CEO candidates, recruiting CEOs, coaching CEOs, sustaining an organization's leadership system, and developing performance matrices for boards of directors who are ultimately responsible for making sure the CEO is effective and efficient.