The impact of chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) overseas experience on the corporate innovation performance of enterprises in China

Abstract

With growing competition among enterprises globally, innovation has become a significant measure of competitiveness. In the present study, we sample enterprises listed on China's A-share stock market (traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange) from 2008 to 2020 to empirically explore the impact of chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) overseas experience on enterprises’ innovation performance. We find that CEOs’ overseas experience positively impacts enterprises’ innovation performance, and that research and development (R&D) investment and information-disclosure quality play intermediary roles. CEOs’ overseas background promotes enterprises’ innovation performance by increasing R&D investment and information-disclosure quality. Further analyses reveal that CEOs’ overseas experience plays a more significant role in boosting invention patents than in promoting utility-model and design patents, and that the positive role of CEOs’ overseas experience is more prominent in high-tech firms and enterprises with stronger internal control. The research results have certain theoretical and practical value in configuring top management to promote enterprises’ innovation.