Cognition that travels and cognition that stays: distinguishing CEO-specific from firm-embedded temporal focus

Purpose Upper echelons theory (UET) argues that CEOs shape organizational outcomes, yet cognitive attributes are especially difficult to measure because they are intertwined with firm-level routines. CEOs’ temporal focus – the allocation of attention to past, present or future – exemplifies this problem, as it may reflect selection by boards, discretion constraints or entrainment into firm temporal structures. To advance UET, the authors distinguish CEO-specific and firm-embedded temporal focus and investigate whether a CEO-specific temporal focus exists independently of firm-level temporal demands, what individual characteristics give rise to it and whether it predicts CEO-specific firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Leveraging a panel of S&P 1,500 firms in which multiple CEOs served during our observation period from 2010 to 2018, the authors use a research design that separates CEO fixed effects (i.e. stable CEO features) from firm fixed effects (i.e. firm routines) to isolate the portable component of temporal focus. The authors then examine the antecedents and consequences of such CEO-specific temporal schemas. Findings CEOs exhibit significant, stable differences in temporal focus beyond firm routines. Age and early-career recession exposure predict these differences. CEO-specific temporal focus contributes to CEO-specific firm performance. Originality/value By disentangling CEO-specific cognition from firm-embedded influences, our study offers a more precise test of executive agency and introduces a methodological approach for identifying the cognitive traits that genuinely reflect the individual rather than the context.