IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v49y2020i1s0048733319301817.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Founder CEOs and innovation: Evidence from CEO sudden deaths in public firms

Author

Listed:
  • Lee, Joon Mahn
  • Kim, Jongsoo
  • Bae, Joonhyung

Abstract

Using a unique dataset on U.S. publicly listed firms that experienced sudden deaths of CEOs during the 1979–2002 period, this paper investigates the relationship between founder CEOs and innovation in public firms. Our main results show that the exogenous change from a founder CEO to a professional CEO is associated with a 43.8% decrease in a firm's citation-weighted patent count, even when controlling for R&D expenditures, suggesting that founder CEOs are better managers of innovations than professional CEOs. To better understand the relationship, we also explore plausible mechanisms that may underlie this relationship. Our analyses show that founder-CEO-managed firms are more likely to generate innovations at the both tails of innovations’ quality distribution (highest and lowest quality patents) and explorative patents than professional-CEO-managed firms. We also determine that change in leadership from a founder CEO to a professional CEO leads employee inventors to leave the firm, suggesting that founder CEOs are better at retaining innovative minds than professional CEOs. However, we do not find evidence that founder-CEO-managed firms allocate more capital to R&D investments than professional-CEO-managed firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, Joon Mahn & Kim, Jongsoo & Bae, Joonhyung, 2020. "Founder CEOs and innovation: Evidence from CEO sudden deaths in public firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:49:y:2020:i:1:s0048733319301817
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2019.103862
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733319301817
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2019.103862?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Narayanan Jayaraman & Ajay Khorana & Edward Nelling & Jeffrey Covin, 2000. "CEO founder status and firm financial performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(12), pages 1215-1224, December.
    2. Gary Dushnitsky, 2010. "Entrepreneurial Optimism in the Market for Technological Inventions," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 150-167, February.
    3. Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2005. "Market Value and Patent Citations," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 36(1), pages 16-38, Spring.
    4. Vincent L. Barker , III & George C. Mueller, 2002. "CEO Characteristics and Firm R&D Spending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 782-801, June.
    5. Joon Mahn Lee & Byoung‐Hyoun Hwang & Hailiang Chen, 2017. "Are founder CEOs more overconfident than professional CEOs? Evidence from S&P 1500 companies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 751-769, March.
    6. Cláudia Custódio & Miguel A. Ferreira & Pedro Matos, 2019. "Do General Managerial Skills Spur Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(2), pages 459-476, February.
    7. Gilsing, Victor & Nooteboom, Bart & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Duysters, Geert & van den Oord, Ad, 2008. "Network embeddedness and the exploration of novel technologies: Technological distance, betweenness centrality and density," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1717-1731, December.
    8. Guoli Chen & Craig Crossland & Shuqing Luo, 2015. "Making the same mistake all over again: CEO overconfidence and corporate resistance to corrective feedback," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1513-1535, October.
    9. Philippe Aghion & John Van Reenen & Luigi Zingales, 2013. "Innovation and Institutional Ownership," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(1), pages 277-304, February.
    10. Sarah Kaplan & Keyvan Vakili, 2015. "The double-edged sword of recombination in breakthrough innovation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1435-1457, October.
    11. Sunder, Jayanthi & Sunder, Shyam V. & Zhang, Jingjing, 2017. "Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 209-224.
    12. Eric Van den Steen, 2005. "Organizational Beliefs and Managerial Vision," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 256-283, April.
    13. Mitchell P. Koza & Arie Y. Lewin, 1998. "The Co-Evolution of Strategic Alliances," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 255-264, June.
    14. Luís M. B. Cabral, 2003. "R&D Competition when firms Choose Variance," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 139-150, March.
    15. Fahlenbrach, Rüdiger, 2009. "Founder-CEOs, Investment Decisions, and Stock Market Performance," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(2), pages 439-466, April.
    16. Gary P. Pisano, 1994. "Knowledge, Integration, and the Locus of Learning: An Empirical Analysis of Process Development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(S1), pages 85-100, December.
    17. Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2001. "The NBER Patent Citation Data File: Lessons, Insights and Methodological Tools," NBER Working Papers 8498, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Benjamin A. Campbell & Martin Ganco & April M. Franco & Rajshree Agarwal, 2012. "Who leaves, where to, and why worry? employee mobility, entrepreneurship and effects on source firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 65-87, January.
    19. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    20. Tong, Xuesong & Frame, J. Davidson, 1994. "Measuring national technological performance with patent claims data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 133-141, March.
    21. Pierre Azoulay & Joshua S. Graff Zivin & Gustavo Manso, 2011. "Incentives and creativity: evidence from the academic life sciences," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 42(3), pages 527-554, September.
    22. Alberto Galasso & Timothy S. Simcoe, 2011. "CEO Overconfidence and Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(8), pages 1469-1484, August.
    23. Shai Bernstein, 2015. "Does Going Public Affect Innovation?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1365-1403, August.
    24. Frank T. Rothaermel & David L. Deeds, 2004. "Exploration and exploitation alliances in biotechnology: a system of new product development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 201-221, March.
    25. Cho, Sam Yul & Kim, Sang Kyun, 2017. "Horizon problem and firm innovation: The influence of CEO career horizon, exploitation and exploration on breakthrough innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1801-1809.
    26. Bronwyn H. Hall, 1999. "Innovation and Market Value," Finance 9902009, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    27. Seth Carnahan, 2017. "Blocked But Not Tackled: Who Founds New Firms When Rivals Dissolve?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(11), pages 2189-2212, November.
    28. Gurneeta Vasudeva & Akbar Zaheer & Exequiel Hernandez, 2013. "The Embeddedness of Networks: Institutions, Structural Holes, and Innovativeness in the Fuel Cell Industry," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(3), pages 645-663, June.
    29. Glenn Hoetker, 2007. "The use of logit and probit models in strategic management research: Critical issues," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 331-343, April.
    30. Baron, Robert A., 2004. "The cognitive perspective: a valuable tool for answering entrepreneurship's basic "why" questions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 221-239, March.
    31. Jasjit Singh & Lee Fleming, 2010. "Lone Inventors as Sources of Breakthroughs: Myth or Reality?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(1), pages 41-56, January.
    32. Lee Fleming, 2001. "Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(1), pages 117-132, January.
    33. Mathew L. A. Hayward & Dean A. Shepherd & Dale Griffin, 2006. "A Hubris Theory of Entrepreneurship," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 52(2), pages 160-172, February.
    34. Daniel Kahneman & Dan Lovallo, 1993. "Timid Choices and Bold Forecasts: A Cognitive Perspective on Risk Taking," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(1), pages 17-31, January.
    35. Villalonga, Belen & Amit, Raphael, 2006. "How do family ownership, control and management affect firm value?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(2), pages 385-417, May.
    36. Timothy J. Quigley & Craig Crossland & Robert J. Campbell, 2017. "Shareholder perceptions of the changing impact of CEOs: Market reactions to unexpected CEO deaths, 1950–2009," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 939-949, April.
    37. Gautam Ahuja & Russell W. Coff & Peggy M. Lee, 2005. "Managerial foresight and attempted rent appropriation: insider trading on knowledge of imminent breakthroughs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(9), pages 791-808, September.
    38. David Hirshleifer & Angie Low & Siew Hong Teoh, 2012. "Are Overconfident CEOs Better Innovators?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(4), pages 1457-1498, August.
    39. Caroline Flammer & Pratima Bansal, 2017. "Does a long-term orientation create value? Evidence from a regression discontinuity," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(9), pages 1827-1847, September.
    40. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    41. Adams, Renée & Almeida, Heitor & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Understanding the relationship between founder-CEOs and firm performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 136-150, January.
    42. Haveman, Heather A. & Khaire, Mukti V., 2004. "Survival beyond succession? The contingent impact of founder succession on organizational failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 437-463, May.
    43. Pankaj Ghemawat, 1991. "Market Incumbency and Technological Inertia," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(2), pages 161-171.
    44. James G. March & Zur Shapira, 1987. "Managerial Perspectives on Risk and Risk Taking," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(11), pages 1404-1418, November.
    45. Joshua Lerner, 1994. "The Importance of Patent Scope: An Empirical Analysis," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(2), pages 319-333, Summer.
    46. Lori Rosenkopf & Atul Nerkar, 2001. "Beyond local search: boundary‐spanning, exploration, and impact in the optical disk industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 287-306, April.
    47. Cooper, Arnold C. & Schendel, Dan, 1976. "Strategic responses to technological threats," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 61-69, February.
    48. Agarwal, Rajshree & Shah, Sonali K., 2014. "Knowledge sources of entrepreneurship: Firm formation by academic, user and employee innovators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(7), pages 1109-1133.
    49. Noam Wasserman, 2003. "Founder-CEO Succession and the Paradox of Entrepreneurial Success," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 149-172, April.
    50. Busenitz, Lowell W. & Barney, Jay B., 1997. "Differences between entrepreneurs and managers in large organizations: Biases and heuristics in strategic decision-making," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 9-30, January.
    51. StewartJr., Wayne H. & Watson, Warren E. & Carland, Joann C. & Carland, James W., 1999. "A proclivity for entrepreneurship: A comparison of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and corporate managers," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 189-214, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qian Wang & Xiaojie Pei & Huigang Liang, 2022. "Founder CEO, CEO Characteristics, and Firm Innovation Efficiency: An Empirical Study of China’s GEM-Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Wenping Ye & Zhongfeng Su & Hongjia Ma, 2023. "Does climate risk affect entrepreneurial growth aspirations? The moderating effects of gender and solo-founded ventures," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 1671-1692, December.
    3. Da Teng & Chengchun Li & Sailesh Tanna, 2022. "Foreign ownership and productivity in Chinese newly listed firms: the moderating roles of founder’s human capital and social ties," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 1125-1159, September.
    4. Chen, Xihui Haviour & Tee, Kienpin & Chang, Victor, 2022. "Accelerating Innovation Efficiency through Agile Leadership: The CEO Network Effects in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    5. Nadia Loukil & Ouidad Yousfi, 2022. "Do CEO’s traits matter in innovation outcomes?," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 375-403, September.
    6. Mario Daniele Amore & Morten Bennedsen & Isabelle Le Breton‐Miller & Danny Miller, 2021. "Back to the future: The effect of returning family successions on firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(8), pages 1432-1458, August.
    7. Timothy DESTEFANO & ITO Keiko & Richard KNELLER & Jonathan TIMMIS, 2023. "Till Death Do Us Part: Relationship shocks, supply chain organization and firm performance," Discussion papers 23049, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Ener, Hakan, 2022. "How does CEO technical expertise influence licensing-out at technology ventures?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    9. Kim, Yeongsu Anthony & Liang, Feng Helen, 2023. "The effect of CEO prominence on cross-border acquisitions: An international entrepreneurship approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    10. Carmen Barroso-Castro & Marta Domínguez de la Concha Castañeda & Mª de los Ángeles Rodríguez Serrano, 2022. "Listed SMEs and innovation: the role of founding board members," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 901-934, June.
    11. Kannan-Narasimhan, Rangapriya (Priya) & Wang, Ruixiang & Zhu, Pengcheng, 2023. "Founder versus agent CEOs: Effects of founder status and power on firm innovation and cost of capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    12. Wu, Qiang & Dbouk, Wassim & Hasan, Iftekhar & Kobeissi, Nada & Zheng, Li, 2021. "Does gender affect innovation? Evidence from female chief technology officers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    13. Sebastian Kruse & David Bendig & Malte Brettel, 2023. "How Does CEO Decision Style Influence Firm Performance? The Mediating Role of Speed and Innovativeness in New Product Development," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 1205-1235, July.
    14. Mike Eom & Mookwon Jung & Jung Chul Park, 2023. "Are overconfident CEOs better able to transform innovation into firm value?—Evidence from the United States," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 241-258, August.
    15. Istipliler, Baris & Bort, Suleika & Woywode, Michael, 2023. "Flowers of adversity: Institutional constraints and innovative SMEs in transition economies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mike Eom & Mookwon Jung & Jung Chul Park, 2023. "Are overconfident CEOs better able to transform innovation into firm value?—Evidence from the United States," International Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 241-258, August.
    2. Christopher Kurzhals & Lorenz Graf‐Vlachy & Andreas König, 2020. "Strategic leadership and technological innovation: A comprehensive review and research agenda," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 437-464, November.
    3. Joon Mahn Lee & Byoung‐Hyoun Hwang & Hailiang Chen, 2017. "Are founder CEOs more overconfident than professional CEOs? Evidence from S&P 1500 companies," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 751-769, March.
    4. Boeker, Warren & Howard, Michael D. & Basu, Sandip & Sahaym, Arvin, 2021. "Interpersonal relationships, digital technologies, and innovation in entrepreneurial ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 495-507.
    5. Cho, Sam Yul & Kim, Sang Kyun, 2017. "Horizon problem and firm innovation: The influence of CEO career horizon, exploitation and exploration on breakthrough innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1801-1809.
    6. Johannes Brunzel, 2021. "Overconfidence and narcissism among the upper echelons: a systematic literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(3), pages 585-623, July.
    7. Hsu, Yuan-Teng & Huang, Chia-Wei & Koedijk, Kees G., 2023. "Unintended consequences of compensation peer groups on corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Kannan-Narasimhan, Rangapriya (Priya) & Wang, Ruixiang & Zhu, Pengcheng, 2023. "Founder versus agent CEOs: Effects of founder status and power on firm innovation and cost of capital," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    9. Islam, Emdad & Zein, Jason, 2020. "Inventor CEOs," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 505-527.
    10. Christian Schumacher & Steffen Keck & Wenjie Tang, 2020. "Biased interpretation of performance feedback: The role of CEO overconfidence," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(6), pages 1139-1165, June.
    11. Sun, Lan & Liu, Shaobo & Chen, Peng, 2022. "Does the paternalism of founder-managers improve firm innovation? Evidence from Chinese non-state-owned listed firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    12. Chen, Jie & Leung, Woon Sau & Evans, Kevin P., 2016. "Are employee-friendly workplaces conducive to innovation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 61-79.
    13. Gao, Lei & Jiang, Christine X. & Mekhaimer, Mohamed, 2023. "Count on subordinate executives: Internal governance and innovation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Daniel V. Holland & Dean A. Shepherd, 2013. "Deciding to Persist: Adversity, Values, and Entrepreneurs’ Decision Policies," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 37(2), pages 331-358, March.
    15. Wu, Qiang & Dbouk, Wassim & Hasan, Iftekhar & Kobeissi, Nada & Zheng, Li, 2021. "Does gender affect innovation? Evidence from female chief technology officers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    16. Ren, Shenggang & Cheng, Yingmei & Hu, Yucai & Yin, Chao, 2021. "Feeling right at home: Hometown CEOs and firm innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    17. Hur, Wonchang & Oh, Junbyoung, 2021. "A man is known by the company he keeps?: A structural relationship between backward citation and forward citation of patents," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    18. Corredoira, Rafael A. & Banerjee, Preeta M., 2015. "Measuring patent's influence on technological evolution: A study of knowledge spanning and subsequent inventive activity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 508-521.
    19. Apa, Roberta & De Noni, Ivan & Orsi, Luigi & Sedita, Silvia Rita, 2018. "Knowledge space oddity: How to increase the intensity and relevance of the technological progress of European regions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9), pages 1700-1712.
    20. Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli & Daniele Rotolo & Vito Albino, 2014. "Determinants of Patent Citations in Biotechnology: An Analysis of Patent Influence Across the Industrial and Organizational Boundaries," SPRU Working Paper Series 2014-05, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:49:y:2020:i:1:s0048733319301817. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.