How does CEO famine experience affect corporate labour cost stickiness?

We identify a positive correlation between CEOs' famine experiences and labour cost stickiness, driven by moral-emotional altruism, which is imprinted from their famine experiences. This effect is significant in state-owned enterprises and intensifies with higher CEO power, education levels, and fewer external employment opportunities. The stickiness stems primarily from famine CEOs' lower likelihood of implementing layoffs, rather than a reduced likelihood of decreasing average employee wages when sales decrease, particularly reflecting greater unwillingness to lay off less-educated employees. This study highlights the role of moral-emotional factors in labour cost decisions, filling a gap in understanding beyond efficiency or agency-based explanations.