On the plurality of leadership structure: Behind the curtain of the co-CEO twindom

The conventional wisdom suggests that an organization should appoint one CEO who takes control and assumes the top management responsibility. Yet, the increasing incidence of a co-CEO structure in corporations around the globe casts doubt on the effectiveness of single leadership. In this paper, we examine the underexplored phenomenon of co-CEO structure in the corporate world. In particular, we develop a conceptual model drawing on the concept of executive job demands and an analysis of 74 co-CEO appointments in 55 companies from 12 countries. Our model aims to conceptualize the co-CEO phenomenon and assist organizations in choosing an appropriate governance structure based on their levels of task and performance challenges.