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CEO's early-life earthquake experience and enterprise digitization

Author

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  • Luo, Jiayi
  • Pan, Yukun
  • Guo, Mengmeng

Abstract

Using Chinese CEOs' earthquake experiences in childhood as an exogenous shock, we examine how executives' early-life disaster experiences impact corporate digitization. Our results show CEOs who experienced severe earthquakes in childhood tend to be more conservative, diminishing digitization efforts. Our mechanism analysis suggests these results stem from reduced risk-taking inclinations. Robustness tests confirm the validity of our primary conclusions. Overall, our study sheds light on how top executives' early-life experiences shape strategic decisions like technology adoption, thereby enriching our understanding of personal influences on corporate decision-making.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Jiayi & Pan, Yukun & Guo, Mengmeng, 2024. "CEO's early-life earthquake experience and enterprise digitization," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:69:y:2024:i:pa:s1544612324011012
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.106071
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    References listed on IDEAS

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