Effects of CEO-BOD Mentoring on Firm Competitive Behavior (Board of Directors) (Chief Executive Officers‪)‬

Executive Summary While a great deal of research examines how mentoring improves individual behavior and performance, it is unclear how mentoring might impact firm behavior and outcomes. We develop a conceptual model to explain and predict how mentoring can improve a firm's competitive behavior and its overall competitiveness. Specifically, we propose that mentoring of a firm's CEO by its board of directors improves the CEO's willingness and capability to competitively engage the firm. When the CEO is mentored by the board of directors, the CEO's human and social capital will be enhanced, which can be used to undertake bolder and more complex competitive moves. Firms can design and implement specific organizational development (OD) interventions to enhance effective mentoring of the senior management and, as a result, improve firm outcomes. We discuss several of these interventions and also highlight implications of our model for OD, mentoring, and firm competitive behavior.