CEOs with Military Experience Outperform Those Without

Our analysis shows that service in the military affects executive decisions and corporate policies and outcomes. More precisely, we find that CEOs who serve in the military tend to invest less, have lower expenditures on research and development, and their firms seem to perform better in times of industry distress.

To the extent that growth of firms through excessive investment can be inefficient, our results provide suggestive evidence that the shift away from military service to business MBA programs can pose an important challenge to corporations


Consider this when hiring a future employee or when applying to work for a company.