Reaching for the stars and knowing how to get there: CEO promotion focus, CEO organizational experience, and strategy uniqueness

Practitioners and researchers often look toward the moves of CEOs who have successfully led their firms to strategy uniqueness—leapfrogging over competitors by deviating from industry norms. Yet, such bold moves tend to be met with organizational resistance precisely because of their unprecedented nature. Drawing on regulatory focus theory and the behavioral theory of the firm, we theorize that while a promotion focus is a key aspirational driver for CEOs to pursue strategy uniqueness, CEOs must also have an in-depth understanding of their firms to successfully translate their strategically unique ideas into reality. We test these expectations in a sample of S&P 500 firms spanning 2010–2020, measuring strategy uniqueness using segment-level data and operationalizing CEO regulatory focus through content analysis of approximately 24,000 quarterly earnings calls. Our findings confirm that CEO promotion focus positively relates to strategy uniqueness and that organizational experience strengthens this relationship.