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This study examines how CEOs’ early-life experiences shape strategic decision-making, focusing on the influence of parental creativity. Drawing on imprinting and upper echelons theories, we argue that CEOs with creatively employed parents develop an exploratory mindset that promotes greater investment in firm R&D. Crucially, we propose that this learning stems from behavioral modeling of exploratory mindsets through creative problem-solving—rather than the transmission of socioeconomic capital. Using a proprietary dataset of Fortune 100 CEOs and their parents’ occupations, we find robust support for this relationship. The effect is amplified under strong firm performance, while CEO age does not consistently weaken the relationship, suggesting that early-life imprints endure. These findings contribute to the upper echelons and organizational learning literatures by identifying a novel antecedent of CEO innovation behavior and highlighting the lasting influence of formative experiences on strategic choices.
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Kahhali et al. (2026) studied this question.
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