The Fast Track to the Top in European Listed Firms: The Role of the Human Capital Mix

Drawing on human capital theory, this study contributes to the career literature by examining the role of ‘human capital mix’ in the speed of career advancement to a top management team (TMT) position, i.e. the so-called ‘fast track’. More specifically, the study analyzes the impact of education, tenure (firm-specific experience) and career variety (inter-functional, inter-industry, inter-firm and international experience) on the career history of more than 9,000 chief executive officers (CEOs) and non-CEO senior executives from European listed firms. The results show that the human capital mix differs for CEOs and non-CEOs and that the typical positive relationship between education and a fast-track career holds only for non-CEOs. Moreover, while tenure promotes a CEO fast-track career, it slows non-CEO career advancement. The results also reveal that career variety delays the speed of career advancement for both CEOs and non-CEOs but may act as a double-edged sword. Indeed, for CEOs, the positive effect of tenure is strengthened when they have higher inter-firm experience or lower inter-functional experience; while for non-CEOs, the negative effect of tenure is alleviated when they have greater career variety. Overall, these results indicate that the impact of the composition of the human capital mix on a fast-track career depends on the type of managerial position considered.