CEO experience as micro‐level origin of dynamic capabilities

The aim of this paper is to corroborate with empirical validations the theoretical considerations about the influence of chief executive officers (CEOs) and their experience as micro‐level origin of dynamic capabilities in organisations.

The paper empirically analyses the impact of CEO experience (CEO firm experience, CEO age, CEO international experience, CEO functional experience) as a micro‐level origin of dynamic marketing and research and development (R&D) capabilities.

The results show that CEO experience influences dynamic capabilities and corroborate the theoretical considerations about the influence of micro‐level origins, i.e. CEO firm experience and CEO age influence the development of dynamic capabilities, dependent on environmental conditions.

The findings encourage more research on the important role of micro‐level origins of dynamic capabilities. With a view to the theoretical background, it would be useful to know whether CEO experience at the individual level and its impact on dynamic capabilities can be transferred to the organisational level.

CEO experience can significantly improve or downgrade dynamic marketing and R&D capabilities, e.g. organisations in turbulent environments have an advantage when their CEO is young, whereas organisations in less turbulent environments benefit from an older CEO.

The paper helps build a better understanding of the role of CEOs and their experience as a micro‐level origin of dynamic capabilities in organisations. It extends the suggestion that micro‐level origins are important in the development of dynamic capabilities.