Cole Short Explores CEO Humor and Leadership in Two Groundbreaking Publications

Pepperdine Graziadio faculty member Dr. Cole Short has co-authored two significant studies that offer fresh insights into CEO behavior and its impact on organizational performance.

The first publication, titled “Balancing the Radical and the Incremental: CEO Affiliative Humor and Organizational Ambidexterity,” examines how CEOs can use humor to navigate the challenging balance between radical and incremental innovation. Published in Research Policy, the study uses videometric and textual analyses to reveal that affiliative humor not only enhances firm ambidexterity but also strengthens the CEO-director dynamic. Dr. Short and his co-authors, Robert J. Campbell and Scott D. Graffin, identify shared director tenure and director busyness as key factors influencing this relationship.

The second study, “Understanding the Situational Antecedents of CEO Regulatory Focus,” explores how a CEO’s mindset is shaped by external pressures like job demands and firm performance. Published in the Journal of Management Studies, this research highlights the variability in CEO regulatory focus based on situational factors, including stakeholder activism and CEO tenure. Co-authored with Lorenz Graf-Vlachy, François Neville, and Franz Xaver Völkl, the study provides a nuanced perspective on how situational dynamics affect executive decision-making.

Both publications underscore Dr. Short’s commitment to advancing our understanding of strategic leadership, offering actionable insights for organizations looking to enhance performance through adaptive leadership strategies.