Antecedents and performance consequences of high-potential programs: The role of firms’ cultural environment

Drawing on neo-institutional and contingency theory, we argue that firms are more likely to use and benefit from a high-potential program when it is accepted and legitimate in and fits with the cultural environment. Drawing on a sample of 1,808 firms from 23 countries, our results provide evidence that the use of high-potential programs is subject to cross-cultural variations, but the pattern is largely inconsistent with predictions derived from neo-institutional theory. We find a positive relationship between the use of high-potential programs and firm performance, but this relationship is not contingent on a firm's cultural environment.