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Inventors in the top management team: How position shapes corporate innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Yafei
  • Jiang, Shaoxiang
  • Sun, Jinping

Abstract

Inventor executives are important organizers and promoters of corporate innovation. This paper constructs a database of inventor executives in Chinese listed companies by utilizing data on corporate patent inventors and executives' personal resumes. Using data from 2008 to 2022, we investigate the association between inventor executives and corporate innovation. The results indicate: (1) Hiring inventor executives leads to higher innovation growth for firms; (2) The underlying four key mechanisms are signaling effects, R&D investment, executive incentives, and social capital. (3) Inventor CEOs, chairmen, CFOs, and junior executives all boost firm innovation, though the mechanisms through which they operate vary; (4) Inventor executives demonstrate greater innovation-stimulating effects in SOEs than in non-SOEs. This paper introduces a new method to identify internal inventors within companies and further explore their impacts on corporate innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Yafei & Jiang, Shaoxiang & Sun, Jinping, 2026. "Inventors in the top management team: How position shapes corporate innovation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:96:y:2026:i:c:s1043951x26000131
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2026.102663
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • 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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