Academic CEOs and Corporate Innovation

72 Pages Posted: 29 Aug 2022 Last revised: 25 Jul 2023

See all articles by George J. Jiang

George J. Jiang

Washington State University

Wenquan Li

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) - International Business School Suzhou; University of Queensland - Business School

Yaohua Li

University of Glasgow

He Wang

Southern University of Science and Technology

Date Written: December 17, 2022

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of academic CEOs on corporate innovation. We show that firms managed by CEOs with academic experience have significantly larger R&D expenditures and generate significantly more and better-quality innovation. In addition, we show that academic CEOs are more effective in managing innovation. Based on exogenous CEO turnover, we demonstrate a causal effect of CEO academic experience on corporate innovation. We also find that the effect of academic CEOs on innovation is more pronounced for firms in innovation-intensive industries and firms with strong external governance. Finally, we show that relative to CEOs with hands-on R&D experience, academic experience identifies a broader set of CEOs that help promote corporate innovation.

Keywords: Corporate innovation; CEO academic experience; Innovative effectiveness; External governance; Innovative industries

JEL Classification: G34, J24, O31, O32

Suggested Citation

Jiang, George and Li, Wenquan and Li, Yaohua and Wang, He, Academic CEOs and Corporate Innovation (December 17, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4196027 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4196027

George Jiang

Washington State University ( email )

Department of Finance and Management Science
Carson College of Business
Pullman, WA 99-4746164
United States
509-3354474 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://directory.business.wsu.edu/bio.html?username=george.jiang

Wenquan Li

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) - International Business School Suzhou ( email )

111 Ren'ai Road
Suzhou Industrial Park
Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123
China

HOME PAGE: http://scholar.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/persons/WenquanLi

University of Queensland - Business School ( email )

Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Australia

Yaohua Li

University of Glasgow ( email )

Adam Smith Business School
Glasgow, Scotland G12 8LE
United Kingdom

He Wang (Contact Author)

Southern University of Science and Technology ( email )

1088 Xueyuan Avenue
Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055
China

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