Research On The Relationship Between CEOs’ Complex Career Background And Firm Value

Talents are a key resource for corporate competition and national development,who play an irreplaceable role in the process of corporate sustainable development and macroeconomic growth.As the core leader of an enterprise,the CEO determines the development goals and strategic plan of the enterprise,and has a decisive influence on the survival and development of the enterprise.What specific impact a CEO’s past career background has on his current management decisions and what impact it has on corporate value is a topic that has always been concerned by the theoretical and practical fields.Based on the domestic and foreign related research results and theories,using manually collected data of CEOs’ career background of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies in China from 2015 to 2019,CEO career background richness index is constructed to measure CEOs’ complex career background.The index is obtained by principal component analysis of five dimensions: the numbers of firms,industries,functions,organizations and regional type that the CEOs have experienced during their careers.The relationship between firm value and CEOs’ complex career background is explained theoretically and verified empirically.The results show that the more complex the CEOs’ career background,the higher the firm value they manage.It is also found from the mediating effect test that CEOs’ complex career background can create firm value through promoting firm innovation and the mediating effect is 16.77%.Further analyses based on firm heterogeneity show that the positive effect of CEOs’ complex career background on firm value is more significant in private firms,small firms and firms with low ownership concentration.Based on the above research conclusions,this article puts forward suggestions for government supervision,enterprises and individual managers.The research significance of this article is to enrich the relevant literature in the field of managers’ background characteristics and corporate value,and to provide references for the selection and training of corporate managers.