– The purpose of this paper is to propose a model explaining the roles of right-hand person and the factors contributing to the successful relationship between the top executive and the right-hand person.
– In-depth qualitative case studies are conducted. Longitudinal observations, interviews with six right-hand persons and the top executives in three organizations are conducted to test the propositions of the model.
– Results indicate that different types of congruence between the top executive and the right-hand person are required when the right-hand person is performing the roles of an implementer and joint decision maker.
– This study extends the leadership literature by investigating the phenomenon of right-hand person of the top executive, which has seldom been studied systematically or scientifically. It provides insights and serves as a stepping stone for future research in this area. One key limitation is that it is a qualitative study with limited samples under investigation.
– Practical implications concerning how to build up a successful relationship between the top executive and the right-hand person can be drawn from the proposed model. Insight concerning how to collaborate between the top executive and the right-hand person can be drawn from the in-depth case analyses.
– The phenomenon of right-hand person is not limited to business organizations. The collaboration between the key decision maker and his chief assistant should be applicable to other contexts such as non-government organizations.
– To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the right-hand person phenomenon in the literature. As the right-hand person of the top executive can have important influence on organizational performance, the study may serve as the stepping stone for further understanding of this important phenomenon.
