That's How I Grew Up: CEO Origin and Corporate Pro-Social Behavior

Abstract

More and more of today’s CEOs were born and raised abroad. How CEO origin affects firms, however, remains largely unexplored. This study investigates how a CEO’s country of origin affects firms’ CSR emphasis. Integrating imprinting theory and the comparative capitalism literature, we suggest that the national business system in a CEO’s country of origin shapes a CEO’s view on CSR and thus his or her firm’s CSR emphasis. We find that CEOs who were brought up in a business environment that resembles a coordinated market economy emphasize CSR more than CEOs originating from a liberal market economy. We further find that this relationship is accentuated when CEOs hold more discretion and when a CEO’s remuneration is incongruent with his or her home country imprint.