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Tessa Recendes, right, received the award for Best Student Paper at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Chicago.

Ph.D. Student's Study of CEOs Earns Best Paper Award

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Tessa Recendes enjoys a deep dive into the traits of CEOs.

Good CEOs and bad.

Misunderstood CEOs, it turns out, too.

The existence of the latter became a revelation of sorts for Recendes, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Spears School’s management department, during research for her paper “Bargaining Your Way to Success: CEO Machiavellianism and Firm Performance.” Recendes’ work was recently named the Best Student Paper during the 78th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management in Chicago.

In a study of CEOs, Recendes sought insight into how they lead and what makes the good ones successful, or what might be downfalls for others; along with a look at the CEO’s role in developing organizational identity.

Generally, Machiavellianism – a personality trait which sees a person so focused on their own interests they will manipulate, deceive, and exploit others to achieve their goals – is considered a negative trait of CEOs. But Recendes’ examination suggested that’s not necessarily the case.

“My big takeaway, and it’s surprising, is that ‘Machs’ can actually inspire,” Recendes said. “Mach leaders can inspire and change the behavior of their followers so they’re more amenable to social influence and using that for themselves.

“I found that more interesting, because everything that we know would say that, ‘No, this is bad for people and for organizations.’ But the fact that it wasn’t was pretty surprising.”

The award culminated what had been a 3 1/2-year process of research and writing for Recendes and her co-authors, who included Oklahoma State professor Frederico Aime, the William S. Spears Chair of Business Administration.

Each paper is rated by at least three reviewers, before advancing to a set of judges.

During the event in Chicago, Recendes said she was initially caught off guard by the announcement.

“A moment of big surprise,” she said. “I wasn’t sure they called the right name at first. But, yeah, it was an awe-opening kind of experience.

“It’s really cool. It’s a really cool feeling. It’s nice to have your work recognized and appreciated by your peers and your scholars.”

Aime said the paper revealed Recendes’ greatest strengths.

“What happens is that she asks interesting questions in her research and finds counterintuitive answers that contribute to our understanding of the impact of top management strategic leadership in organizations,” Aime said.

“She is very rigorous in her research approaches, which contributes to her success. But, more than everything, it is her excitement about the projects that makes it a pleasure to work with her.”

For Recendes, this marks a second major recognition for her research and writing. Last year she won a division best paper award for her report on CEO humility.

Recendes, originally from San Antonio, came to OSU in 2014. Previously, she performed her undergraduate studies at Baylor, where she majored in sports sponsorship and sales. She then worked for Major League Soccer in Denver and Dallas, and spent another year working at a marketing firm, before earning her MBA at the University of North Texas.

Along with pursuing her doctorate, Recendes teaches a course in strategic management.

“I do really like the teaching aspect,” she said. “I have two sides to myself. I’m kind of introverted, but I do enjoy the extroversion in meeting new people and getting to make those kinds of connections with students. So that is really rewarding.”

According to Aime, the extrovert in Recendes is winning, spectacularly.

“By the way,” Aime said, “Tessa is also amazing in the class. I have seen her teach and she has an innate ability to connect with students even in a complex subject as strategic management.”

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