Pollution and green innovation: Evidence from CEOs’ early-life experience

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of CEOs’ early-life exposure to environmental pollution on corporate green innovation. Using a sample of heavily polluting enterprises in China from 2008 to 2021, we find that CEOs who experienced more severe environmental pollution during their childhood are more inclined to promote green innovation. This finding remains robust to various endogeneity and robustness tests. The sensitivity of CEOs to environmental risk can explain this positive relationship. Specifically, the positive effect is more pronounced in companies that invest more in environmental protection and that have higher prevalence of environmental terms in their annual reports. In regions with high environmental regulations, and when led by CEOs with higher levels of education and positive career prospects, the relationship between early-life environmental pollution experience and corporate green innovation is strengthened. Our results contribute to the existing literature regarding the impact of childhood experience on corporate green innovation.