UC Riverside

This dissertation explores the effects of social comparisons -- the innate drive to analyze the self in relation to others as well as being analyzed in comparison to others -- on organizational power concentration, corporate renewal strategies, and individual decision-making. The dissertation consists of three empirical papers in which each paper explores social comparison effects from a unique perspective. The first two papers look at social comparison effects through the lens of behavioral imprints shaped during one’s upbringing. Specifically, the first paper examines the relationship between a CEO’s childhood socio-economic status (SES) and CEO duality. The second paper examines the relationship between a CEO’s childhood exposure to creativity and corporate renewal strategies. The third paper examines social comparison effects resulting from the presence of relative performance feedback which ranks individuals vis-à-vis others. Specifically, it examines the effects of relative performance information (RPI) on subsequent task performance and task persistence. Taken together, the three studies provide rich contextual insights suggesting that social comparisons can act as an antecedent to individual decision making and behavioral preferences which, in turn, impact organizational outcomes.