Premium
The impact of executive diversity on corporate innovation: Evidence from the natural experiment of high‐speed rail in China
Author(s) -
Guo Zhaorui,
Chan Kam C.,
Huang Jun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
managerial and decision economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.288
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1099-1468
pISSN - 0143-6570
DOI - 10.1002/mde.3227
Subject(s) - marketization , diversity (politics) , china , business , executive summary , industrial organization , carry (investment) , economic geography , economics , finance , geography , political science , archaeology , law
We examine the impact of executive diversity on corporate innovation using an exogenous natural experiment: the implementation of high‐speed rail (HSR) in China. The findings suggest that after a city implements HSR, firms increase their executive diversity, resulting in better corporate innovation than firms in non‐HSR cities. Additional analysis suggests that when a firm belongs to a competitive industry, is located in a low marketization region, or operates in a poor transportation region, the impact of HSR on executive diversity and corporate innovation is magnified. Our findings carry implications for other emerging markets.