Academic CEOs and Corporate Innovation
72 Pages Posted: 29 Aug 2022 Last revised: 25 Jul 2023
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: Suggested Citation
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
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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