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Does CEO accent impact investors’ investment decision?

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  • Kale, Devendra
  • Triki, Anis

Abstract

We explore the impact of CEO accent on the investment decisions of non-professional investors and the drivers of such investment decisions. Using AI to generate a foreign-sounding (Kenyan) and American accent, we investigate the impact of CEO accent on investors’ investment decisions. We also investigate the moderating impact of CEO reputation. Our results suggest that investors are willing to invest higher amounts in firms led by ‘foreign-sounding’ CEOs when the CEOs have a good reputation. Supplemental analysis shows that the impact of accent on investment is not uniform across different ‘foreign’ accents.

Suggested Citation

  • Kale, Devendra & Triki, Anis, 2025. "Does CEO accent impact investors’ investment decision?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:beexfi:v:48:y:2025:i:c:s2214635025000814
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbef.2025.101100
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    References listed on IDEAS

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