The Outcomes of Cross-Category Career Moves: How Cross-Industry Mobility and Industry Prestige Jointly Impact Executive Compensation
研究高管跨行业跳槽对薪酬的影响，发现跨行业者薪酬低于行业内流动者，且转向高声望行业时薪酬折扣更大。
Identifying executives’ industry affiliation with categorical membership, this study examines how moving to a different industry impacts mobility compensation outcomes. On the demand side, we propose that audience ambiguity and commitment concerns regarding cross-category moves limit the potential compensation of industry-changing executives. On the supply side, we argue that executives might accept smaller monetary rewards in exchange for acquiring experience in a new domain. Since category status also affects audience evaluations of candidates and candidates’ desire to affiliate with a specific social category, we further hypothesize that both demand and supply mechanisms are moderated by status differences between an executive’s origin and destination industries. Our analysis of voluntary mobility and compensation patterns of S&P 1500 executives supports these arguments: industry-changing executives realize lower compensation than closely matched within-industry movers. As expected, the compressing effect of changing industry on compensation is contingent upon status differences across industries. Executives who transition to higher-status industries face more stringent compensation discounts, while those moving to lower-status industries experience similar compensation variation as within-industry movers. Our study advances category and status-attainment research by incorporating the influence of industry prestige on career outcomes of cross-category moves, while casting light on the individual consequences of executive mobility.