CEOs' career backgrounds and corporate long-term strategic planning

CEOs affect corporate outcomes along various dimensions. including the emphasis placed on long-term strategic planning. This study assesses the impact of CEOs' functional and industry specializations on R&D and capital spending in four manufacturing industries. We found only limited support for our position that CEOs with more professional-type careers are less willing than other CEOs to have their firms make long-term investments. ''A critical theme of... the modern industrial enterprise is that creating and maintaining such capabilities is a continuing, long-term process-a process that requires sound, longterm perspectives from the decision makers responsible for the health and growth of their enterprise''.