Keywords
Business Performance
Educational Diversity
Firm Performance
Organizational Leadership
Human Capital
Labor Productivity
How to Cite
Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship between CEOs’ educational characteristics and the performance of companies included in an international ranking published in 2024. A cross-sectional and observational design was employed, with no manipulation of variables and based on secondary data. The population consisted of the 500 CEOs in the ranking, and the sample included only those cases with complete information regarding their educational background. The database was structured with performance variables (overall score, employee satisfaction, and sustainability), educational characteristics (type of university, educational level, and educational diversity), and sociodemographic controls (age, gender, and country of headquarters). The analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson and Spearman correlations, and multiple regression models. The results showed that none of the educational characteristics were significantly associated with the overall score (p = 0.594; ANOVA p = 0.117) nor with the other metrics (r between 0.02 and 0.07; p > 0.05). A marked gender gap (91.8% men) and geographic concentration in the United States (39.8%) were observed. It is concluded that CEOs’ educational backgrounds do not predict performance in elite global firms, suggesting the relevance of considering other contextual and executive experience factors.
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