CEOs’ regulatory focus and firm internationalization: The moderating effects of CEO overconfidence, narcissism and career horizon

Ashenafi Biru*, Igor Filatotchev, Garry Bruton, David Gilbert

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)
44 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

While the international business literature has mainly focused on the firm- or industry-level antecedents of internationalization strategies, scholars have recently advocated a greater focus on the microfoundations of firms’ strategic decisions. Building on the regulatory focus theory, this study focuses on how CEO promotion and prevention foci impact firm internationalization. Looking into dispositional and situational attributions, this study also theorizes how these factors moderate the relationship between a CEO's psychological motivations and firm internationalization. Using data from publicly traded US firms listed in the Fortune 500, the findings of this study show that a CEO's promotion focus is positively associated with the extent of a firm's internationalization, whereas a CEO's strong prevention focus limits the extent of a firm's internationalization. The findings also reveal that the relationship between a CEO's regulatory focus and the extent of a firm's internationalization is moderated by a CEO's overconfidence, narcissism, and career horizon. These findings have important research and managerial implications for firms engaged in international business.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102078
JournalInternational Business Review
Early online date23 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 23 Nov 2022

Keywords

  • CEO psychology
  • Firm internationalization
  • Regulatory focus
  • Strategic decision

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