arbiter
JournalsPricingAccount

Engineering leadership: A human capital, cognitive‐fit, and innovation diffusion perspective on <scp>CEO</scp> financial performance

Ehsan Danesh

Review of Financial Economics2026https://doi.org/10.1002/rfe.70040article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Abstract This study examines whether CEOs' engineering education is associated with superior firm‐level financial performance and whether the depth of technical education further amplifies this relationship. Drawing on Upper Echelons Theory (UET), Human Capital Theory (HCT), Cognitive‐Fit Theory, and Innovation Diffusion Theory, the study conceptualizes engineering education as a form of task‐specific and cumulative human capital that shapes executive cognition, decision quality, and innovation adoption. Using a six‐year panel (2019–2024) of Fortune 500 firms, the analysis employs correlation and hierarchical regression techniques to assess the relationship between CEO engineering education and three accounting‐based performance measures: Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and Net Income Growth. The findings provide consistent evidence that firms led by engineering‐educated CEOs outperform those led by non‐engineering CEOs across all three financial indicators. Moreover, CEOs holding both undergraduate and graduate engineering degrees exhibit significantly stronger performance effects, with higher coefficients and increased explanatory power across regression models. These results suggest that deeper technical education enhances analytical rigor, capital allocation efficiency, and the ability to scale performance‐enhancing innovations. Moving beyond traditional MBA‐centric perspectives, this study contributes to executive leadership and finance research by demonstrating that discipline‐specific and cumulative engineering education represents a meaningful and economically relevant dimension of CEO human capital. The findings offer important implications for executive selection, leadership development, and governance in data‐intensive and technology‐driven organizational contexts.

Open paper page →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/rfe.70040

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{ehsan2026,
  title        = {{Engineering leadership: A human capital, cognitive‐fit, and innovation diffusion perspective on <scp>CEO</scp> financial performance}},
  author       = {Ehsan Danesh},
  journal      = {Review of Financial Economics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/rfe.70040},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

Engineering leadership: A human capital, cognitive‐fit, and innovation diffusion perspective on <scp>CEO</scp> financial performance

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.

Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.