Title: International expansion and new CEO origin

Authors: Yu-Kai Wang

Addresses: Department of Business Administration, Soochow University, 56, Kueiyang St., Sec. 1, Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract: This study investigates how international expansion impacts the likelihood of outside CEO succession. Drawing upon existing literature on international expansion, executive job demands and executive succession, it argues there are two types of international expansion - international exploitation and international exploration - and that they pose different challenges for new CEOs. Specifically, it contends that international exploitation (exploration) demands existing (new) knowledge of locations that are within (beyond) the spectrum of the multinational enterprise's (MNE's) existing host countries. Accordingly, it proposes that international exploitation (exploration) is associated with a smaller (greater) likelihood of outside CEO succession. This study further argues that pre-succession MNE performance moderates the above relationships. The empirical results mainly support these arguments, demonstrating that the challenges associated with international expansion are a significant determinant of new CEO origin.

Keywords: CEO origin; executive job demands; international expansion; international exploitation; international exploration; outside CEO succession.

DOI: 10.1504/EJIM.2025.146853

European Journal of International Management, 2025 Vol.26 No.2, pp.216 - 244

Accepted: 25 Oct 2023
Published online: 23 Jun 2025 *

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