Does the Academic Experience of CEOs Affect Corporate High-Quality Development?

Based on imprinting theories, we explored how CEOs’ academic experience impacts corporate high-quality development. Using data from Chinese listed companies between 2010 and 2019 and the least squares method, we discovered that CEOs’ academic experience increased corporate high-quality development by increasing corporate value creation and sharing. According to discretionary managerial theory, we further explored the boundaries of CEOs’ academic experience that affects corporate high-quality development. CEOs’ academic experience in corporate high-quality development is more significant when CEOs have power within the enterprise and when the product market is competitive and market-oriented. The results held when Heckman’s, the double-difference method, and the placebo test were used to address the endogeneity problem. Our findings contribute to the literature on the imprinting theory and corporate high-quality development and provide a basis for deciding how governments can promote corporate high-quality development from a corporate micro-decision perspective.