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Outside directors on the board, competition and innovation

Author

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  • Buchwald, Achim
  • Thorwarth, Susanne

Abstract

We investigate the influence of non-executive outside directors on firms' innovative performance for a sample of 1,393 listed firms in the EU - 15 member states plus Norway and Switzerland in the period 2005 to 2010. Our results show that the fraction of non-executive outside directors on the board is associated with a significant decrease in the number of patent applications if competition in the market is low. This may indicate that restrictive monitoring and lower advising competences of outside directors mitigate executives' incentives to innovate. In industries with effective competition, the negative influence of outsiders is offset by the pressure to focus on innovation strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Buchwald, Achim & Thorwarth, Susanne, 2015. "Outside directors on the board, competition and innovation," DICE Discussion Papers 173, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:dicedp:173
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Alfredo M. Bobillo & J.A. Rodríguez‐Sanz & F. Tejerina‐Gaite, 2018. "Corporate governance drivers of firm innovation capacity," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 721-741, August.
    3. Irina Berezinets & Kirill Berezkin & Yulia Ilina & Irina Naoumova, 2019. "Board Of Directors As A Factor Of Firm Performance In Innovative Companies," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(06), pages 1-26, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competition; Corporate Governance; Innovation; Patents; Board Composition; Outside Directors;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • M21 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - Business Economics
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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