{"title":"Revisiting the Relationship Between CEO Characteristics and Firm Internationalization: Evidence From a Machine Learning Approach","authors":"Cong Cheng, Yawen Lin, Jian Dai","doi":"10.1002/mde.4507","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div>\n \n <p>This study leverages machine learning (ML) techniques to assess the impact of CEO characteristics on the international performance of firms. Analyzing data from Chinese listed companies between 2008 and 2021, this study evaluates 14 ML algorithms and identifies the random forest model as the most effective. Additionally, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) algorithm is employed for result interpretation and visualization. The findings indicate that most CEO traits can predict a firm's international success. Notably, international experience, age, and CEO duality emerge as the top predictors. Specifically, both international experience and CEO duality positively influence performance, while the CEO's age exhibits a complex, non-linear relationship with performance. This study provides a nuanced perspective on how CEO characteristics influence a firm's international success.</p>\n </div>","PeriodicalId":18186,"journal":{"name":"Managerial and Decision Economics","volume":"46 5","pages":"2855-2868"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Managerial and Decision Economics","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mde.4507","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study leverages machine learning (ML) techniques to assess the impact of CEO characteristics on the international performance of firms. Analyzing data from Chinese listed companies between 2008 and 2021, this study evaluates 14 ML algorithms and identifies the random forest model as the most effective. Additionally, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) algorithm is employed for result interpretation and visualization. The findings indicate that most CEO traits can predict a firm's international success. Notably, international experience, age, and CEO duality emerge as the top predictors. Specifically, both international experience and CEO duality positively influence performance, while the CEO's age exhibits a complex, non-linear relationship with performance. This study provides a nuanced perspective on how CEO characteristics influence a firm's international success.
期刊介绍:
Managerial and Decision Economics will publish articles applying economic reasoning to managerial decision-making and management strategy.Management strategy concerns practical decisions that managers face about how to compete, how to succeed, and how to organize to achieve their goals. Economic thinking and analysis provides a critical foundation for strategic decision-making across a variety of dimensions. For example, economic insights may help in determining which activities to outsource and which to perfom internally. They can help unravel questions regarding what drives performance differences among firms and what allows these differences to persist. They can contribute to an appreciation of how industries, organizations, and capabilities evolve.