Think crisis-think female？Female top management team member replacement in the hospitality and tourism firms

The gender stereotype of female top management team (TMT) member replacement following poor performance remains under-researched, especially in the hospitality and tourism industry. From the lens of the behavioral theory of the firm, this study uses the method of cluster-adjusted fixed-effects regression to investigate the impact of perceptive poor performance on female TMT member replacement. The results show that the perceptive poor performance can increase female TMT member replacement, which implies a think crisis-think male stereotype rather than a think crisis-think female stereotype. A positive moderating effect of TMT education level, and negative moderating effects of government ownership and slack were identified. These findings could contribute to the gender stereotype literature and shed light on offering implications for decision-makers of hospitality and tourism firms and policymakers. •A think crisis-think male stereotype exists in the hospitality and tourism industry.•The think crisis-think female stereotype does not exist.•TMT education level strengthens the think crisis-think male stereotype.•Government ownership and slack weaken the think crisis-think male stereotype.