Once a Founder, Always a Founder? The Role of External Former Founders in Corporate Boards

Public corporations often appoint external former founders to their boards in hope that they will encourage a (re-)focus on creating future new business. Seeking investigate this common practice, we integrate upper echelons theory with imprinting theory, arguing founding company indeed represents formative experience leave an imprint and subsequent board decision-making. Subsequent experience, however, some may be subjected likewise but public corporate experiences, for instance, by taking own business or assuming CEO positions other corporations, lead decay of the original its effect. We find support our reasoning across S&P1500 firms ranging from 2000 2012.