Aten K. Zaandam

Biography

I am a strategy scholar investigating how psychological dispositions and structural governance shape strategic decisions. Grounded in my background as a clinical mental health counselor, my research advances Upper Echelons and Behavioral Agency theories by exploring how executives and external audiences interpret structural constraints. Central to my work is the tension between self and society. Specifically, I identify when leaders prioritize self-interest over collective welfare. Methodologically, I apply advanced statistical techniques to bring empirical rigor to the behavioral processes underlying corporate strategy.

Rather than relying on distal psychological proxies, I build datasets that directly measure executive traits at scale. To accomplish this, I built a dataset that links thousands of executive video interviews directly to archival firm data, allowing me to measure facial, vocal, and textual markers alongside corporate outcomes. I use this approach to test behavioral mechanisms that traditional archival measures cannot observe.

For example, in work examining the microfoundations of Transaction Cost Economics, I analyze earnings call transcripts to capture executive distrust, turning the baseline assumption of opportunism into a measurable construct. In another stream, I use interview data to identify public indicators of CEO social class origins and trace how resource insecurity mediates the relationship between class background and greedy versus prosocial behaviors. Finally, I analyze director interview footage to measure board empathy and demonstrate how socio-emotional dynamics alter CEO compensation decisions. In doing so, I extend Behavioral Agency Theory to the boardroom, showing how directors' emotions and personal biases shape executive pay rather than simple economic calculations.

Publications

Published

1. 01

   Zaandam, A.*, with Hubbard T*., & Markoczy, L.* (2026, in press). The Resource Insecurity Mindset: Why CEOs from Lower-Class Origins Are Both Greedier and More Generous. Academy of Management Journal. (All authors contributed equally).

2. 02

   Hasija, D., Zaandam, A., Stettler, E., Ellstrand, A., & Guldiken, O. A. (2026, in press). Process Model of Board Characteristics and Firm Performance: A Meta analytic Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Corporate Governance: An International Review.

3. 03

   Zaandam, A., Hasija, D., Ellstrand, A. E., & Cummings, M. E. (2021). Founder and professional CEOs' performance differences across institutions: a meta analytic study. Global Strategy Journal, 11(4), 620 655.

Under Review

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  Zaandam, A., Short, C., Yang, R., & Haleblian, J., Catch Up or Double Down? How Competitor Type Shapes External Corporate Venturing in Pharmaceutical R&D. Academy of Management Journal.

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  Zaandam, A., Hubbard T., & Short C. Introducing A Large-Scale, Multimodal Database of Executive Video Interviews. Organization Science.

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  Zaandam, A., & Hubbard, T., CEO greed and vertical integration: Going it alone or collaborating with others. Journal of Management.

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  Zaandam, A., Triana, M. & Barr-Pulliam, D. Does Partisanship Penalize Female Leaders? Auditor Evaluations in the Wake of Corporate Misstatements. Management Science.

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  Zaandam, A., & Hubbard, T., When Self-Interest Serves Others: Greed, Attention, and Resource Reallocation in Crises. Journal of Management Studies.

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  Jooyoung, K., Zaandam, A., & Triana, M. The Glass Signal: How Female Board Appointments Become Pathways to Mobility. Organization Science.

Education

Contact