The study, conducted by the American Marketing Association, examined trends in 389 Fortune 500 firms over six years.
The results showed that female executives are more oriented toward customer relationships than their male counterparts and in turn discuss customers more in the C-suite. As a result, the whole team directs their focus on customers, leading to better financial performance in the long run as customer satisfaction increases.
The relationship between female leaders and customer orientation varied across industry and C-suite composition. For example, it decreased 17 percent in industries with frequent technological shifts and unpredictable customer preferences, but increased 80 percent for companies with a high concentration of women on their boards.
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