Using Large Language Models to Construct Virtual Top Managers: A Method for Organizational Research
This provides a complementary tool for organizational researchers studying executive decision-making, though it is incremental as it builds on existing LLM and theory methods.
This study tackled the problem of limited access to real executives in organizational research by using large language models to create virtual personas of top managers, finding that these personas approximated human moral judgments with credible results.
This study introduces a methodological framework that uses large language models to create virtual personas of real top managers. Drawing on real CEO communications and Moral Foundations Theory, we construct LLM-based participants that simulate the decision-making of individual leaders. Across three phases, we assess construct validity, reliability, and behavioral fidelity by benchmarking these virtual CEOs against human participants. Our results indicate that theoretically scaffolded personas approximate the moral judgements observed in human samples, suggesting that LLM-based personas can serve as credible and complementary tools for organizational research in contexts where direct access to executives is limited. We conclude by outlining implications for future research using LLM-based personas in organizational settings.