Corporate strategic distinctiveness in the aftermath of natural disasters

Purpose This study examines how natural disasters affect corporate strategic distinctiveness and investigates the moderating roles of CEO early-life disaster experience and CEO tenure. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on organisational adaptation theory, we construct a multidimensional measure of strategic distinctiveness using quarterly data on Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2019. We estimate difference-in-differences models, with disaster data web-scraped from the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China. To address endogeneity and robustness concerns, we conduct placebo tests, propensity-score matching, subsample analyses and textual analysis of earnings conference call transcripts. Findings We find that natural disasters reduce corporate strategic distinctiveness, indicating that firms adopt more conforming strategies to secure legitimacy and resources. This effect is stronger for climate-related disasters and is amplified when CEOs have early-life disaster experience or longer tenure. Further analysis shows firms conform more strongly when disasters recur. Originality/value This study highlights how firms adapt to risks posed by natural disasters. By showing the tendency of firms to converge towards industry norms and the role of CEO characteristics in shaping this response, this study enriches the broader discourse on management accounting and corporate governance in the context of major external shocks.