Power, politics, and top management team characteristics: do they matter?

This study assesses the contributions of the leader power and top management team characteristics to perceived strategic capability. Low age heterogeneity and low tenure heterogeneity were found to have a positive association with perceived adaptability. High diversity in educational specialization was also found to be positively associated with adaptability. Top management perceptions of CEO power were, however, lower among high adaptors. Implications for leadership research, senior management recruitment, and the design of management development for top management teams are discussed.