Keywords
Citation
Lehmberg, D. (2010), "The GE paradox: competitive advantage through fungible non-firm-specific investment", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 24 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2010.08124cad.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The GE paradox: competitive advantage through fungible non-firm-specific investment
Article Type: Abstracts From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 24, Issue 3
Lehmberg D., Rowe W.G., White R.E. and Phillips J.R.Journal of Management (USA), October 2009, Vol. 35, No. 5, Start page: 1129, No. of pages: 25
Purpose – Addresses two questions: (a) does General Electric have an exceptional ability to develop non-firm-specific general management talent; and (b) how can GE’s investment in non-firm-specific, non-proprietary managerial capabilities be explained theoretically? Design/methodology/approach – Looks at the GE effect (that firms hiring ex-GE executives experience an increase in market performance) and the GE paradox (how it can be in GE’s interest to develop managerial talent that migrates outside the firm). Describes GE’s background and looks at the literature on GE’s leadership and development system and the GE effect. Develops the hypothesis that firms announcing the appointment of ex-GE executives will experience a greater positive change in market expectations than firms announcing the appointment of non-GE executives and describes the study method used. Provides a statistical analysis of the results. Findings – Considers that GE has an extraordinary managerial development capability which is organised to be exploited as a source of sustained competitive advantage through the development of managers who will provide excellent performance for the company and that the loss of some of these managers to other organisations is an inevitable by-product of the process.Article type: Research paperISSN: 0149-2063Reference: 39AC468
Keywords: Competitive advantage, General Electric, Management development, Retention, USA