Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
12-2025
Abstract
Amid regional economic integration and market competition, innovation has become a key driver for enterprises to gain competitive advantages and ensure sustainable development. As primary decision-makers in corporate strategy and resource allocation, chief executive officers (CEOs) impact the selection and implementation of innovation strategies through their financial and technical backgrounds, which influence their strategic cognition and risk preferences, leading to heterogeneous innovation behaviors. While existing research has examined the relationship between CEOs and corporate innovation, studies have inadequately explored CEOs’ diverse background characteristics, particularly the interaction between financial and technical backgrounds. Given the rising trend of CFOs and CTOs advancing to CEO roles, there is a pressing need for theoretical inquiry into how these senior executives’ financial or technical expertise aligns with corporate innovation strategies. Therefore, this study categorizes CEOs into four types: (1) those with both financial and technical backgrounds, (2) those with only financial backgrounds, (3) those with only technical backgrounds, and (4) those with neither financial nor technical backgrounds. Specifically, CEOs with prior roles in finance or accounting are categorized as financial CEOs, while those with experience in technology R&D or innovation are classified as technical CEOs. Building on the upper echelons theory, attention-based view, and ambidextrous innovation theory, this study develops an analytical framework to examine how CEOs’ backgrounds influence corporate innovation and shape their strategic preferences between exploratory innovation and exploitative innovation.
This study conducts empirical analysis using multiple indicators, including patent data completeness, enterprise size thresholds, and debt ratio appropriateness among A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2022. Representative samples are selected to build the sample database and enhance the generalizability and credibility of findings. We collect data from authoritative databases (China Stock Market & Accounting Research Database and Wind) and use manually compiled senior executive profiles and patent records from China National Intellectual Property Administration to form a panel dataset with innovation inputs, exploratory/exploitative patent outputs, and strategic implementation outcomes. In terms of statistical methods, a multivariate regression model is employed to test main effects.
We employ propensity score matching to address endogeneity concerns and conduct robustness tests based on alternative variables and redefined measures. Moderating effect analysis delineates boundary conditions for contingent factors like firm age and equity concentration. The results show that financial CEOs’ backgrounds inhibit both exploratory and exploitative innovations, whereas technical CEOs’ backgrounds positively correlate with these innovation types—in contrast to CEOs with neither financial nor technical backgrounds. The control variable analysis reveals that firm age negatively correlates with exploratory innovation but positively correlates with exploitative innovation, which reflects that startups favor exploratory innovation while mature firms rely more on exploitative innovation. The shareholding ratio of the largest shareholder inhibits exploratory innovation.
In summary, this study bridges a research gap by developing an analytical framework to examine how CEOs’ background characteristics influence corporate innovation strategies. It aims to extend research on the relationship between senior executives’ traits and corporate innovation and provide micro-level behavioral insights into the heterogeneity of innovation strategies. The findings offer practical implications for corporate decision-making.
Keywords
CEO, corporate innovation, financial background, technical background, enterprise management
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Business Administration (Accounting and Finance)
Discipline
Accounting | Finance and Financial Management
Supervisor(s)
ZHANG, Hong; CHENG, Qiang
First Page
1
Last Page
126
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
CHENG, Jianyu.
A study on the impact of CEOs’ financial and technical backgrounds on the innovation strategy of the enterprise. (2025). 1-126.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/820
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.