Manager Characteristics and Firm Performance

本稿では、日本企業の業績と社長の属性の関係を分析した。われわれが使ったデータは、2006-2016年の企業パネルデータで、日本の全雇用者の約2/3を占める企業、大企業から中小企業まで網羅的にカバーする。男性、高学歴、出身地が事業を行っている場所と違う社長の企業で、企業業績（雇用者数、売上高、1人当たり売上高のレベルと伸び率）はより高い。社長の年齢と企業業績（レベル）の関係は逆U字型で、40歳代の社長の企業で最も高く、業績の成長率は加齢にしたがって下がっていく。しかしながら、良い業績の社長が景気後退期にも良いパフォーマンスを示すとは限らない。リーマンショック時には、男性、異郷出身の社長の企業の方が業績落ち込みが大きかった。これらの結果は、企業の産業、年齢、場所、同族企業か否かをコントロールしても変わらない。この結果は、社長の人的資本、リスク嗜好の違いで一部説明できる。本稿の結果は、人口動態の変化―高齢化、女性の社会進出、高学歴化、地元志向―が企業業績を通して、経済成長に影響を与える可能性を示唆する。

This paper studies the relationship between the performance of a firm and the characteristics of its manager for private and public firms in Japan. We use a panel data of firms from 2006-2016 that covers over two-thirds of aggregate employment and is representative of the firm size distribution. We find that firm performance measures—size, growth, and sales per employee—are higher in firms with managers who are male, more educated, and whose self-reported hometown differs from the location of the firm he or she manages (migrant managers). We also find an inverted-U relationship between firm performance level and manager's age, and that growth rate declines with the manager's age. Firm performance first increases with age until middle age, after which it declines with age. However, managers with characteristics that are associated with good performance do not necessarily perform better in recessions: male and migrant managers cut back more on sales and employment during the 2008-2009 recession. These results hold even after controlling for firm characteristics such as industry, age, location, and family ownership. Our results are consistent with human capital and risk preference affecting the productivity of managers. They suggest that demographic shifts—aging, rising female labor participation and education attainment, change in migration patterns—may affect economic growth through the distribution of managerial productivity.