Steering Sustainability: The Interplay of CEO Imprints, Organizational Performance, and Government Policies in Green Innovation

Feifei Lu, Sixian Du, Khalid Mehmood () and Muhammad Mohsin Hakeem
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Feifei Lu: SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Sixian Du: SILC Business School, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
Khalid Mehmood: Research Center of Hubei Micro & Small Enterprises Development, School of Economics and Management, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan 432000, China
Muhammad Mohsin Hakeem: NUCB Business School, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, Nagoya 460-0003, Aichi, Japan

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: How do CEOs’ unique early-life experiences—particularly those shaped by formative influences such as military training—impact their subsequent strategic decision-making in green innovation? By integrating upper-echelon theory, imprinting theory, and the green innovation literature, this paper explores whether and when a CEO’s military background influences a firm’s adoption of green innovation practices, specifically within an emerging market context. Analyzing a sample of 1419 Chinese listed firms over the period from 2007 to 2016, our results reveal a significant positive effect of a CEO’s military experience on the firm’s green innovation performance. Furthermore, we find that a firm’s positive financial performance amplifies the influence of the CEO’s military imprint on green innovation outcomes. However, the intensity of government environmental regulation moderates this effect, weakening the relationship between the CEO’s personal values and the firm’s green innovation performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Keywords: CEO’s military experience; financial performance feedback; government environment regulations; green innovation performance; imprinting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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