The power of spirit: CEOs' university mottos and corporate innovation

Yimin Gong, Xinyu Li, Xianhang Qian and Cheng Colin Zeng

International Review of Finance, 2025, vol. 25, issue 3

Abstract: This paper investigates the impact of CEOs' university mottos on corporate innovation. We find that firms led by CEOs who graduated from universities with the word innovation in their mottos exhibit higher levels of innovation. This positive effect is more pronounced when the CEOs graduated from science and technology or national key universities, and when the firm operates in a high‐tech sector or is a non‐state‐owned enterprise (non‐SOE). Channel tests reveal that CEOs whose university mottos include the word innovation enhance corporate innovation through three crucial mechanisms: (1) increasing focus on research and development (R&D), (2) allocating more resources to R&D endeavors, and (3) cultivating a corporate culture that embraces high‐risk ventures. Overall, our study illuminates the crucial role of CEOs' innovative mindsets, which are shaped by their university mottos, in driving corporate innovation.

Date: 2025
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