TY - JOUR
T1 - Educate to Innovate
T2 - STEM Directors and Corporate Innovation
AU - Hsieh, Tien-Shih
AU - Kim, Jeong-Bon
AU - Wang, Ray R.
AU - Wang, Zhihong
N1 - Research Unit(s) information for this publication is provided by the author(s) concerned.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Using a sample of 14,245 firm-year observations from 2,579 listed firms in the Chinese capital market, this study investigates whether board directors with an educational background in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are associated with greater corporate innovation. The results suggest that such directors have significant beneficial effects on corporate innovation activities. This study provides novel empirical evidence supporting resource dependence theory and extends the labor economics literature regarding the value of STEM graduates for corporate innovation. The findings have significant implications for policymakers and practitioners, showing that firms with a strategic focus on innovation may find it beneficial to appoint more directors with a background in STEM.
AB - Using a sample of 14,245 firm-year observations from 2,579 listed firms in the Chinese capital market, this study investigates whether board directors with an educational background in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are associated with greater corporate innovation. The results suggest that such directors have significant beneficial effects on corporate innovation activities. This study provides novel empirical evidence supporting resource dependence theory and extends the labor economics literature regarding the value of STEM graduates for corporate innovation. The findings have significant implications for policymakers and practitioners, showing that firms with a strategic focus on innovation may find it beneficial to appoint more directors with a background in STEM.
KW - STEM
KW - Board of directors
KW - STEM directors
KW - Corporate innovation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115155394&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85115155394&origin=recordpage
U2 - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.022
DO - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.09.022
M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal
SN - 0148-2963
VL - 138
SP - 229
EP - 238
JO - Journal of Business Research
JF - Journal of Business Research
ER -