Academic CEOs as Stewards of Corporate ESG: Evidence from China

Drawing on imprinting and stewardship theories, this study examines how CEOs with academic backgrounds influence corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2011 to 2024, the study finds that firms led by academic CEOs exhibit significantly higher ESG performance. Mediation analyses reveal that this effect operates through stewardship behavior, as manifested in the CEO’s long-term and stakeholder orientations. Additionally, the study provides evidence supporting stewardship over agency theory by showing that the positive ESG effect of academic CEOs is significantly attenuated by managerial ownership, consistent with the stewardship prediction that extrinsic ownership incentives crowd out intrinsically motivated stewardship behavior. The findings provide a theoretically grounded account of how academic socialization translates into corporate sustainability and have concrete implications for CEO selection and policy frameworks that promote ESG-oriented corporate behavior.