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The Role of Women on Board for Innovation: Lessons from the High-tech Companies

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Advances in Gender and Cultural Research in Business and Economics (IPAZIA 2018)

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Abstract

Building on previous research on gender diversity in corporate governance, the article empirically examines the implications of women on board for the company commitment to innovation by focusing on the presence, the critical mass and the human capital diversity of female directors. To this purpose, it relies on a unique dataset of Italian companies belonging to the high-tech industry as this context is considered male-dominated. Findings document that female directors positively affect the company commitment to innovation only when boards are characterized by a critical mass of women. Moreover, the analyses show that the human capital diversity of female directors enhances the firm commitment to innovation. Thereby, the study offers contributions to both scholars and practitioners. Indeed, it fuels the debate on the role played by women on board and emphasizes the importance of fostering the appointment of female directors, especially as critical mass. In addition, it highlights that the critical mass of female directors can exploit the benefits of gender diversity as it limits the emerging conflicts within the boardroom as well as hampers the risk-aversion, the skill underestimation and the sense of inferiority that is typical of women on board in masculine industries. Finally, the research emphasizes the relevance of mixing the diverse educational/professional backgrounds of female directors to foster the development of new ideas and improve the cross-functional discussions among board members to the benefit of company innovation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Management, Institutions, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Cinthia, Monte S. Angelo, Naples, Italy

    Sara Saggese & Fabrizia Sarto

Authors
  1. Sara Saggese
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  2. Fabrizia Sarto
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Correspondence to Fabrizia Sarto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department Law and Economics of Productive Activities, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Paola Paoloni

  2. Department Law and Economics of Productive Activities, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Rosa Lombardi

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Saggese, S., Sarto, F. (2019). The Role of Women on Board for Innovation: Lessons from the High-tech Companies. In: Paoloni, P., Lombardi, R. (eds) Advances in Gender and Cultural Research in Business and Economics. IPAZIA 2018. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00335-7_11

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