Glass Cliff or Glass Myth? Experimental Evidence from Hiring Under Risk

The glass cliff phenomenon describes the tendency for women and other minority groups to be disproportionately appointed to leadership positions during times of organizational risk and instability. While prior research has documented this effect, some empirical evidence has also challenged its existence. In this paper, we design a lab-based online experiment to test whether the glass cliff phenomenon arises in a controlled environment. Moreover, little is known about whether other social categories beyond gender, such as ethnicity, are similarly affected. The experiment aims to detect both gender- and ethnic-based glass cliff effects. In the experiment, participants assumed the role of employers tasked with selecting leaders under stable and crisis conditions. Our results show no evidence of glass cliff effects based on either gender or ethnicity. These findings challenge the generalizability of the glass cliff phenomenon. We discuss the lack of a plausible economic mechanism by which it could systematically emerge in incentive-compatible environments. This suggests that future research and policy design should move away from the search for universal evidence of the glass cliff and instead focus on identifying the specific contexts and conditions under which it may occur.