Red Giants or Black Holes?
The Antecedent Conditions and Multi-Level Impacts of Star Performers
Key Finding
From the recruitment of celebrity CEOs to the fierce competition for star scientists, human capital strategies have long promoted the importance of star performers. But sixty years of research reveals a fundamental duality — stars can radiate value outward or collapse inward — and the balkanization of this literature has obscured the conditions that determine which outcome prevails.
Overview
Published in the Academy of Management Annals and recipient of the 2020 Holtzman Research Award, this paper develops a comprehensive framework for understanding star performers across multiple levels of analysis. The astronomical metaphor captures a fundamental duality: star performers can function as red giants (expanding, radiating value outward to teams and organizations) or as black holes (collapsing inward, absorbing resources and attention at the expense of the collective).
Contribution to the Research Program
This review contributes to the Methods & Infrastructure stream by providing a multi-level analytical framework applicable across organizational contexts. Its insights on how individual-level phenomena cascade through organizational systems inform the lab's broader interest in complex adaptive systems and agent-based modeling.
Key Insights
- Star performers have predictable antecedent conditions that can be identified and cultivated
- Whether a star performer functions as a red giant or black hole depends on organizational and contextual factors
- The effects of star performers cascade across levels — individual, team, organizational, and field
- Organizations can influence which trajectory star performers take through governance and cultural design