Little research has examined the independent and interactive effects of CEO succession and tenure on organizational failure. In this study, the authors found independent effects of CEO succession and tenure on organizational failure in a group of small rural hospitals. Consistent with the authors' predictions, CEO succession increased risk of organizational failure, whereas tenure affected failure in a U-shaped fashion. Risk of failure first declined with CEO tenure but increased steadily after the sixth year of tenure. No interaction was found between CEO tenure and succession.
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