Drawing upon imprinting and categorical social cognition perspectives, we theorize how CEOs’ early-life experience of intergroup ethnic violence shapes their firms’ FDI strategy in countries wherein outgroup members form the preponderant demography. Our analyses of Indian firms’ FDI reveal that Hindu CEOs’ early-life exposure to Hindu-Muslim ethnic violence reduces their firms’ likelihood of a) FDI in Muslim-majority countries and b) engaging in partnering-mode in these countries. Further, imprinted CEOs’ working experience with Muslim directors through board interlocks weakens the negative effect on likelihood of FDI, but not on partnering modes in Muslim-majority countries. We contribute to a better understanding of FDI location choices and mode of operations, sources and consequences of executives’ stereotyped beliefs regarding demographic groups in international business, and the distal and distant effects of ethnic violence on international business decisions.
