CEO green experience and corporate green investment

Abstract This paper empirically studies whether CEO green experience has an impact on corporate green investment and underlying mechanism based on the data of A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) The firms hiring CEOs with green background,are more likely to invest on green projects by 0.641 units on average. (2) Compared with state-owned firms, CEO's green experience in non-state-owned firms has a stronger positive effect on firms' green investment. (3) Compared with firms with high market competition, the green experience of CEOs in firms with low market competition has a more significant effect on promoting green investment. Finally, based on the empirical findings, the policy suggestions are as follows: When selecting and appointing CEOs, firms should attach importance to their environmental qualifications and green awareness, as their personal values and environmental experiences are of great significance for sustainable development initiatives. At the same time, the government should introduce differentiated policies for firms with different ownership types.