This article explores whether new firms managed by founder-chief executive officers (CEOs) are more likely to survive than those managed by successor-CEOs in times of crisis. Drawing on the concept of ‘resilience’ to adversity, we argue that founder-CEOs increase the likelihood of new firm survival, especially in times of crisis. Using a sample of Japanese firms founded during the 2003–2010 period, we examine the impact of founder-CEO succession on new firm survival. The analysis shows that new firms managed by founder-CEOs are less likely to liquidate than those managed by successor-CEOs, especially during the 2008–2009 financial crisis. This suggests that founder-CEOs are more resilient to crises than successor-CEOs. In contrast, new firms managed by successor-CEOs are more likely to exit via merger than those managed by founder-CEOs, regardless of macroeconomic conditions. These findings are robust after controlling for the endogeneity of CEO succession.

本文探讨了在危机时期，由创始人兼首席执行官 (CEO) 管理的新公司是否比由继任 CEO 管理的公司更有可能生存下来。借鉴逆境“韧性”的概念，我们认为创始人兼 CEO 增加了新公司生存的可能性，尤其是在危机时期。我们使用 2003 年至 2010 年期间成立的日本公司样本，研究了创始人-CEO 继任对新公司生存的影响。分析表明，由创始人 CEO 管理的新公司清算的可能性低于继任 CEO 管理的公司，尤其是在 2008-2009 年金融危机期间。这表明创始人兼 CEO 比继任 CEO 更能抵御危机。相比之下，由继任 CEO 管理的新公司比创始人 CEO 管理的公司更有可能通过合并退出，无论宏观经济状况如何。在控制了 CEO 继任的内生性后，这些发现是稳健的。