IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/quaeco/v101y2025ics1062976925000225.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social injustice and corporate innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem
  • Ucar, Erdem

Abstract

We investigate the role of local social injustice, measured by racial prejudice and sexism, in corporate innovation. In a sample of U.S. firms, we find that local racial prejudice and sexism negatively affect corporate innovation. The results remain robust after the inclusion of other unobserved local factors. Furthermore, we find that the firms located in states with higher sexism levels continue to have lower corporate innovation outputs in the leading two and three years. The empirical findings imply that social injustice does not only have a social cost but also has economic consequences for firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Ucar, Erdem, 2025. "Social injustice and corporate innovation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:101:y:2025:i:c:s1062976925000225
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2025.101981
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1062976925000225
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.qref.2025.101981?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brav, Alon & Jiang, Wei & Ma, Song & Tian, Xuan, 2018. "How does hedge fund activism reshape corporate innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 237-264.
    2. Benkraiem, Ramzi & Boubaker, Sabri & Brinette, Souad & Khemiri, Sabrina, 2021. "Board feminization and innovation through corporate venture capital investments: The moderating effects of independence and management skills," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    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. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Jonathan Guryan & Jessica Pan, 2018. "The Effects of Sexism on American Women: The Role of Norms vs. Discrimination," NBER Working Papers 24904, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Becker-Blease, John R., 2011. "Governance and innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 947-958, September.
    6. Bernile, Gennaro & Bhagwat, Vineet & Yonker, Scott, 2018. "Board diversity, firm risk, and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(3), pages 588-612.
    7. Leonid Kogan & Dimitris Papanikolaou & Amit Seru & Noah Stoffman, 2017. "Technological Innovation, Resource Allocation, and Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(2), pages 665-712.
    8. Adhikari, Binay Kumar & Agrawal, Anup, 2016. "Does local religiosity matter for bank risk-taking?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 272-293.
    9. 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.
    10. Griffin, Dale & Li, Kai & Xu, Ting, 2021. "Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Innovation: International Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 123-154, February.
    11. Hasan, Iftekhar & (Stan) Hoi, Chun-Keung & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2020. "Is social capital associated with corporate innovation? Evidence from publicly listed firms in the U.S," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    12. Christophe Boone & Boris Lokshin & Hannes Guenter & René Belderbos, 2019. "Top management team nationality diversity, corporate entrepreneurship, and innovation in multinational firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(2), pages 277-302, February.
    13. Jiang, Xuanyu & Yuan, Qingbo, 2018. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 148-168.
    14. Ucar, Erdem, 2018. "Local creative culture and corporate innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 60-70.
    15. Cho, Chanho & Halford, Joseph T. & Hsu, Scott & Ng, Lilian, 2016. "Do managers matter for corporate innovation?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 206-229.
    16. Huasheng Gao & Wei Zhang, 2017. "Employment Nondiscrimination Acts and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(9), pages 2982-2999, September.
    17. Erdem Ucar, 2019. "Creative culture, risk‐taking, and corporate financial decisions," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(3), pages 684-717, June.
    18. Chuluun, Tuugi & Prevost, Andrew & Upadhyay, Arun, 2017. "Firm network structure and innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 193-214.
    19. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    20. Adhikari, Binay Kumar & Agrawal, Anup, 2016. "Religion, gambling attitudes and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 229-248.
    21. Benkraiem, Ramzi & Boubaker, Sabri & Brinette, Souad & Khemiri, Sabrina, 2021. "Board feminization and innovation through corporate venture capital investments: The moderating effects of independence and management skills," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    22. Chemmanur, Thomas J. & Kong, Lei & Krishnan, Karthik & Yu, Qianqian, 2019. "Top Management Human Capital, Inventor Mobility, and Corporate Innovation," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(6), pages 2383-2422, December.
    23. Celik, Murat Alp, 2023. "Does the Cream Always Rise to the Top? The Misallocation of Talent in Innovation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 105-128.
    24. He, Jie (Jack) & Tian, Xuan, 2013. "The dark side of analyst coverage: The case of innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 856-878.
    25. Chen, Jie & Leung, Woon Sau & Evans, Kevin P., 2018. "Female board representation, corporate innovation and firm performance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 236-254.
    26. Christo Pirinsky & Qinghai Wang, 2006. "Does Corporate Headquarters Location Matter for Stock Returns?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(4), pages 1991-2015, August.
    27. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Jonathan Guryan, 2008. "Prejudice and Wages: An Empirical Assessment of Becker's The Economics of Discrimination," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(5), pages 773-809, October.
    28. 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.
    29. Daniel Bradley & Incheol Kim & Xuan Tian, 2017. "Do Unions Affect Innovation?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(7), pages 2251-2271, July.
    30. Boubakri, Narjess & Chkir, Imed & Saadi, Samir & Zhu, Hui, 2021. "Does national culture affect corporate innovation? International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    31. An, Heng & Chen, Carl R. & Wu, Qun & Zhang, Ting, 2021. "Corporate Innovation: Do Diverse Boards Help?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(1), pages 155-182, February.
    32. Roger C. Mayer & Richard S. Warr & Jing Zhao, 2018. "Do Pro‐Diversity Policies Improve Corporate Innovation?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(3), pages 617-650, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Hedy Jiaying Huang & Ahsan Habib & Sophia Li Sun & Ying Liu & Huiting Guo, 2021. "Financial reporting and corporate innovation: a review of the international literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5439-5499, December.
    2. Wang, Jimin & Ho, Choy Yeing (Chloe) & Shan, Yuan George, 2024. "Does cybersecurity risk stifle corporate innovation activities?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Kong, Dongmin & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Jian, 2022. "Higher education and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Huang, Yi-Hou & Liang, Woan-lih & Truong, Quang-Thai & Wang, Yanzhi, 2022. "No new tricks for old dogs? Old directors and innovation performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    5. Francis, Bill & Mani, Suresh Babu & Sharma, Zenu & Wu, Qiang, 2021. "The impact of organization capital on firm innovation," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    6. Ucar, Erdem, 2018. "Local creative culture and corporate innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 60-70.
    7. Fich, Eliezer M. & Nguyen, Tung & Petmezas, Dimitris, 2023. "The effects of terrorist attacks on inventor productivity and mobility," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    8. Linh Thompson, 2024. "Employee health and corporate innovation: Evidence from medical cannabis legalisation," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(4), pages 3927-3950, December.
    9. I-Ju Chen & Wei Chih Lin & Huai-Chun Lo & Sheng-Syan Chen, 2023. "Board diversity and corporate innovation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 63-123, July.
    10. Seong K. Byun & Jong-Min & Han Xia, 2021. "Incremental vs. Breakthrough Innovation: The Role of Technology Spillovers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 1779-1802, March.
    11. Gao, Lei & Han, Jianlei & Pan, Zheyao & Zhang, Huixuan, 2023. "Individualistic CEO and corporate innovation: Evidence from U.S. frontier culture," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    12. Mack, Daniel Z. & Chen, Guoli & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Lee, Yen Teik & George, Gerard, 2025. "Interfaces, social information processing, and diversity cascades: How board diversity influences invention output," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    13. Liu, Yulin & Chen, Lin & Cao, Zhiling & Wen, Fenghua, 2024. "Uncertainty breeds opportunities: Assessing climate policy uncertainty and its impact on corporate innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    14. Jeffrey L. Callen & Xiaohua Fang, 2020. "Local Gambling Norms and Audit Pricing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 151-173, June.
    15. Ching-Hung Chang & Qingqing Wu, 2021. "Board Networks and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3618-3654, June.
    16. Moshirian, Fariborz & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui & Zhang, Wenrui, 2021. "Stock market liberalization and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(3), pages 985-1014.
    17. Gao, Lei & Jiang, Christine X. & Mekhaimer, Mohamed, 2023. "Count on subordinate executives: Internal governance and innovation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    18. Lee, Junyong & Oh, Frederick Dongchuhl & Shin, Donglim, 2024. "Religion and corporate innovation," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    19. Guan, Yuyan & Zhang, Liandong & Zheng, Liu & Zou, Hong, 2021. "Managerial liability and corporate innovation: Evidence from a legal shock," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    20. Chen Lin & Sibo Liu & Gustavo Manso, 2021. "Shareholder Litigation and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3346-3367, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:quaeco:v:101:y:2025:i:c:s1062976925000225. 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/inca/620167 .

    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.