Chairpersons’ Imprinting Experience and Internal Pay Disparities

The internal pay disparities between executives and employees have been the focus of both market and academic attention. To deeply explore the determinants of these disparities, this study draws on imprinting theory to examine whether and how chairpersons’ i mprinting experiences influence internal pay gaps, analyzing a sample of Chinese companies from 2011 to 2020. We examine two key imprinting experiences, which are overseas exposure and childhood poverty. Our findings reveal that overseas experience is associated with wider internal pay disparities, whereas childhood poverty experience is related to narrower pay gaps, reflecting distinct cognitive imprints rooted in performance orientation and empathy sensitivity. Further analyses indicate these effects are more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises and companies led by chairpersons with longer tenure. Mechanism analysis reveals that larger pay gaps arise primarily from higher compensation for top management. In comparison, smaller pay gaps result from higher compensation for average employees and reduced compensation for top management. Moreover, additional tests distinguishing types of overseas experience indicate that overseas work experience, rather than overseas education, plays a more critical role in shaping compensation style. Our study highlights the essential influence of formative experiences on shaping leadership behavior and corporate compensation strategies.