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As an exploratory step toward integrating differing views in the field of top management succession, this study takes an open system’s perspective and examines the effect of top management succession on organizational performance, in particular decision-making accuracy, under conditions where various organizational and environmental factors can interact. Through a formal computer simulation model that captures the basic behaviors of human decision making and the fundamental characteristics of organizational and environmental settings, the results show that whether top management successions may affect organizational performance, and if so, how organizational performance may be affected, depends on such contextual variables as industry environment, organizational structure, succession type, and organizational age. This study has also demonstrated the importance of moving toward a more systematic and precise contingency approach and the power of computer modeling in understanding the multilevel process of top management succession in complex and dynamic organizations.

Information Processing and Leadership: A Review and Implications for Application In the current paper, contemporary research that has examined the role of information processing in the context of leadership is reviewed and the implications of this research for application are discussed. Although the vast majority of the leadership literature has focused on external and observable outcomes, such as a leader’s behaviors, the current paper takes an alternative perspective, reviewing literature that has examined leadership from an information processing vantage point. In contemplating the utility of this perspective, consider for a moment the following questions: How does a subordinate decide whether his/her supervisor is a leader? Why does an organizational supervisor punish one subordinate for poor performance but not another? Why does a supervisor utilize a particular behavioral style? As the literature reviewed throughout this paper shall indicate, the answer to each of these questions lies in developing a better understanding of how leaders and subordinates process information. To provide an organizational framework, the present paper is divided into three main sections. In the first portion of this paper, a working definition of leadership and information processing are provided. Next, relevant literature dealing with a leader’s information processing is reviewed, and finally, relevant literature dealing with follower information processing is discussed. Defining Leadership and Information Processing As a starting point, leadership is conceptualized as a social process, one involving both a

The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the end of this journey, I find it fitting to quote the Grateful Dead – “What a long, strange trip it’s been!!! ” Fortunately, I have benefited from the encouragement and support of several significant groups of people. First of all, this dissertation is dedicated to my family, whose unconditional love and support has helped bolster and encourage me. All my love to my parents, Robert and Juanita, my brothers, Willie, Billy, and Dennis, and the other members of my family. I also offer a special acknowledgement to my grandmother, Helen Davis, who is always with me in spirit. I am also blessed to have received training and mentorship from an outstanding group of faculty at Florida State University. I especially appreciate the guidance and understanding of my dissertation chair, Dr. Bruce Lamont. Dr. Lamont is a man who has always pushed me to reach my full potential, and enabled me to envision concepts and theories in entirely new lights. I would also like to offer special thanks to the other members of my dissertation committee, Drs. Gerald Ferris, Ralph Brower, David Ketchen Jr., and Chuck Kacmar, for their feedback and insight throughout the dissertation process. Finally, I would like to thank the students who served as mentors, friends, and colleagues