Chief executives doubled the span of their control of firms in two decades, a global study says.
The survey, by the management and strategy consulting firm Booz & Company and Harvard Business School, analysed 300 Fortune 500 companies between 1986 and 2008.
By the end of the study, chief executives received an average of 10 direct reports on their companies' operations, compared with only five in 1986.
Booz is now investigating to see if there are any similarities to organisations in the Middle East.
"We just started this exercise and look forward to the results," said Ramy Sfeir, a principal with Booz & Company in Abu Dhabi.
"In general, however, chief executives in the region have generally had a large number of reports compared to more international companies. We need to confirm or negate that during our study," he said.
The study found that chief executives now receive more reports on their companies from professionals with extensive "functional" expertise, such as chief marketing officers or chief information officers.
"If you look at the trend in terms of competitiveness and what it takes for companies to succeed today, there is much more focus on having very deep functional expertise to be able to over-perform and beat your competition," he added.
Historically, such functions were often performed by a chief administrative officer or a chief operating officer (COO) - positions that have become less relevant in recent years, said Mr Sfeir.
In 1986, 55 per cent of Fortune 500 companies had chief operating officers. By 1999 the number was down to 45 per cent, and it has continued to decline over the past decade.
"The COO position is becoming less relevant," said Mr Sfeir.
Factors including better digitisation and easier interpersonal coordination are helping chief executives to stay connected in a more efficient manner. The study also found that when chief executives take over, they tend to make more contact with other senior staff to identify high performers and understand the business first-hand.
"As chief executives' tenures extend, the direct reports tend to go down because [they] are more comfortable with delegating more to people they identify as high performers," said Mr Sfeir.
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