The Cultural Origin of CEOs’ Attitudes toward Uncertainty: Evidence from Corporate Acquisitions
研究发现，具有更强不确定性规避文化背景的美国CEO更少进行收购，且收购时偏好熟悉行业和易整合的目标，文化传承受父母强调和早期环境影响，代际间持续但随时间减弱。
Abstract We examine the role of cultural heritage in shaping U.S. CEOs’ attitudes toward uncertainty, in the context of their corporate acquisition decisions. We find that CEOs with a more uncertainty-avoiding cultural heritage are less likely to engage in acquisitions. Conditional on making an acquisition, uncertainty-averse CEOs prefer targets in familiar industries and targets that can be more easily integrated. The emphasis on cultural identity by CEOs’ parents and the ethnic composition of CEOs’ early life environment significantly influence the cultural transmission process. Cultural differences about uncertainty attitudes persist over multiple generations, but become less pronounced over time.