Global Business and Finance Review | 2026
Authors: Ha P.V.; Nguyen T.B.
DOI: 10.17549/gbfr.2026.31.4.143
Journal: Global Business and Finance Review
Year: 2026
Publisher: People and Global Business Association
Document Type: Article
Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access
Cited by: 0
Purpose: This study investigates the impact of the Chief Executive Officer's (CEO) educational background on firm performance in the context of an emerging market, aiming to clarify the nature—linear or nonlinear—of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses panel data from 203 non-financial firms listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) between 2013 and 2022. CEO education is quantified by the number of formal schooling years, based on the Vietnamese national education framework. To address endogeneity and dynamic panel issues, the study employs the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). Both linear and quadratic specifications are tested to capture possible nonlinearities. Findings: The results reveal a U-shaped nonlinear relationship between CEO education and firm performance. Initially, increases in education levels may reduce short-term performance, possibly due to a focus on long-term strategies. However, beyond a threshold (around postgraduate level), higher educational attainment significantly improves both accounting-based (ROA) and market-based (MVBV) performance. Research limitations/implications: While the one-step GMM approach helps mitigate endogeneity, future research could adopt the two-step GMM for increased efficiency. Additionally, examining other CEO traits (e.g., leadership style or experience) and industry-specific effects could enrich the understanding of the CEO-performance nexus. Originality/value: This study contributes to corporate governance literature by quantifying CEO education based on years of schooling within the national context and identifying a nonlinear impact on performance. The findings highlight the importance of aligning educational attainment with practical experience, offering insights for board-lev-el executive selection in emerging economies like Vietnam. ⓒ Copyright: The Author(s). This is an Open Access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons.
CEO education; corporate governance; firm performance; nonlinear relationship