Promotion or Prevention? Does CEOs’ Famine Experience Affect Their Digital Transformation Decisions?

Digital transformation offers firms significant advantages, with CEOs playing a crucial role in shaping strategic initiatives. However, few studies have examined how CEOs’ formative experiences influence their decision-making. Drawing on imprinting theory and regulatory focus theory, this study investigates the impact of CEOs’ early-life exposure to the Great Chinese Famine on digital transformation decisions, and identifies boundary conditions that shape this relationship. Using a dataset of Chinese listed companies, we find that 1) CEOs’ famine experiences activate a prevention focus, leading to a significantly negative impact on firm’s digital transformation effects; 2) CEO compensation strengthens the negative imprinting effect, while the marketisation level weakens it; and 3) the moderating effect of insignificant. The findings provide empirical evidence on the impact of CEOs’ early-life traumatic events on companies’ adoption of digital technologies and highlight the critical role of managerial incentives and institutional environments in moderating imprint effects.