University of New Hampshire
McNair Scholar, 2019
Major: Accounting & Finance
Mentor: Dr. Stephen Ciccone, Department of Accounting & Finance
Research Title: Investigating The Relationship Between Background And Risk Immigrant Vs. Native-Born CEOs
Investigating The Relationship Between Background And Risk Immigrant Vs. Native-Born CEOs
The population in the United States is rapidly changing due to immigration patterns and globalization. This study aims to look at the background of CEOs in the S&P 1500 and compare immigrant CEOs to their native-born counterparts in hopes to uncover a difference is risk-taking tendencies. There has been little to no research done in examining the relationship between cultural background and risk-taking in the context of large companies. Decision making and risk-taking within immigrant communities in the context of small businesses has been explored, however with a change from a small business to large corporates the methods used change due to the higher risks associated with larger companies. Larger companies have the benefit of data availability for risk metrics, whereas small firm CEOs may have greater influence within their firm, but a lack of reliable data. This study expects to find a difference in risk-taking between native-born and immigrant CEOs, in which immigrant CEOs have participated in more volatile activities, thus are deemed more willing to take risks even in environments with high stakes. The results found in this research will aid in better understanding the influence behavioral traits have on the decisions made by CEOs.
