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CEO’s early-life war-experience and corporate philanthropic donation: Evidence from the Korean War

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  • Choi, Sanghak
  • Chun, Hongmin

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of CEOs' early-life exposure to war on corporate philanthropic donations, focusing on the Korean War as a unique historical context. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between CEOs' early-life war experiences and the magnitude of corporate donations, particularly among those aged six to 15 during the war and from regions with higher war severity. Robustness checks, including propensity score matching and regression discontinuity design, confirm the validity of these results. The research contributes to upper echelons and imprinting theories by demonstrating how formative traumatic experiences shape altruistic decision-making and corporate policies. Moreover, it identifies moderating factors such as financial constraints, Chaebol affiliation, and foreign ownership weaken this relationship by limiting CEOs' decision-making autonomy or resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Choi, Sanghak & Chun, Hongmin, 2025. "CEO’s early-life war-experience and corporate philanthropic donation: Evidence from the Korean War," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:46:y:2025:i:c:s2214635025000425
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2025.101061
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    Keywords

    CEO’s early-life experience; Corporate donations; Korean War; Upper echelons theory; Imprinting theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General

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