The impact of board gender diversity and national culture on corporate innovation: a multi- country analysis of multinational corporations operating in emerging economies

Attah-Boakye, Rexford; Adams, Kweku; Kimani, Danson; Ullah, Subhan

Abstract

This paper contributes to burgeoning research concerning the relationship between boardroom gender diversity and corporate innovation. The paper deploys a multi-theoretical framework comprising insights from the upper echelons, resource-dependency, and institutional theories, and the Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework. We test a panel dataset for 472 multinationals in 21 emerging economies, covering nine years (2009-2018). Our findings reveal that gender diversity is positively associated with corporate innovation. We also find that local factors such as national norms, cultural values, and country-level institutional quality influence boardroom gender diversity, level of investment in research and development (R&D), and corporate innovation. The paper concludes by providing policy and managerial recommendations on how to promote firm R&D within emerging markets contexts.

Citation

Attah-Boakye, R., Adams, K., Kimani, D., & Ullah, S. (2020). The impact of board gender diversity and national culture on corporate innovation: a multi- country analysis of multinational corporations operating in emerging economies. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 161, Article 120247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120247

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 8, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Aug 22, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Deposit Date: Dec 28, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2022
• Journal: Technological Forecasting and Social Change
• Print ISSN: 0040-1625
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 161
• Article Number: 120247
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120247
• Keywords: Gender diversity; National culture; Institutional environment; Multinational corporations (MNCs); Emerging economies; Firm innovation
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3556687
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040162520310738
• Related Public URLs: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4829037/the-impact-of-board-gender-diversity-and-national-culture-on-corporate-innovation-a-multi-country-analysis-of-multinational-corporations-operating-in-emerging-economies