In this paper, we review the theoretical and empirical literature on measuring the top management quality of firms, and its relation to various aspects of corporate financial policies and corporate innovation, and draw policy implications for enhancing corporate innovation. First, we discuss how...

This study examines how industry-specific managerial experience affects firms’ innovation performance in the context of different institutional environments. Based on firm-level data from 27 Central and Eastern European countries we identify a robust positive relationship between...

Innovation is the principle driver of firm and economic growth. Thus one disturbing trend that may explain stagnant growth is a 65% decline in firms' RQ. We propose that the rise of outside CEOs is partially responsible for the decline. While this proposition was motivated by interviews with...

Many firms tout their commitment to diversity, sometimes appointing racial minorities to their board of directors. We find that firms with more minority directors are associated with greater innovation output. Using patent-inventor information, we uncover an important yet previously...

Using a novel, manually-collected dataset, we find that firms whose chief executive officer (CEO) is an inventor experience significantly better innovation outcomes, as measured by patents and future citations. We obtain these results in models with firm fixed effects, in...

The literature on corporate governance has highlighted the importance of board characteristics related to firm innovation. However, empirical findings have not been totally conclusive, and some seem contradictory. Adopting a new perspective, we have tried to help resolve the puzzle using a...