In this paper, we study the effect a CEO’s international work experience has on his or her compensation. By combining human capital theory with a resource dependence and a resource-based perspective, we argue that international work experience translates into higher pay. We also suggest that international work experience comprises several dimensions that affect CEO compensation: duration, timing and breadth of stays abroad. With data from Europe’s largest stock market firms, we provide evidence that the longer the international work experiences and the more numerous they are, the higher a CEO’s compensation. While, based on our theoretical arguments, we expect to find that later international work experiences pay off for CEOs, our empirical analysis shows that earlier international work experiences are particularly valuable in terms of compensation. In addition, our data support the argument that maturity allows a CEO to take advantage of the skills, knowledge and competencies obtained via international experience—and to receive a higher payoff. With our study, we improve the understanding of how different facets of a CEO’s background shape executive remuneration.

在本文中，我们研究了 CEO 的国际工作经验对其薪酬的影响。通过将人力资本理论与资源依赖和基于资源的观点相结合，我们认为国际工作经验可以转化为更高的薪酬。我们还建议，国际工作经验包括影响 CEO 薪酬的几个方面：在国外逗留的持续时间、时间和广度。根据欧洲最大的股票市场公司的数据，我们提供的证据表明，国际工作经验越长，人数越多，CEO 的薪酬就越高。虽然，根据我们的理论论证，我们希望发现后来的国际工作经验对 CEO 来说是有回报的，我们的实证分析表明，较早的国际工作经验在薪酬方面特别有价值。此外，我们的数据支持这样的论点，即成熟度使 CEO 能够利用通过国际经验获得的技能、知识和能力，并获得更高的回报。通过我们的研究，我们加深了对 CEO 背景的不同方面如何影响高管薪酬的理解。