ABSTRACT
R&D investment is necessary for firms to pursue innovation. However, few studies have simultaneously investigated the different tenure effects of founder CEOs and agent CEOs on R&D investment. Furthermore, scholars have been increasingly calling for a study of the effects of CEO-board interactions on firm strategy. Accordingly, this study examines the differing effects of founder CEO tenure and agent CEO tenure and the moderating influence of independent directors’ human and social capital on R&D investment. Regarding the tenure effect on R&D investment, an inverted U-shaped relationship is observed for agent CEOs whereas a negative relationship is noted for founder CEOs. Additionally, the results show that independent directors’ industry-specific experience (board human capital) and external directorships (board social capital) positively moderate the relationship between CEO tenure and R&D investment.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Editor-in-Chief James Fleck and two anonymous reviewers of Technology Analysis & Strategic Management for their helpful comments during the review process. The authors also acknowledge the financial assistance for this project from Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST 104-2410-H-327-027).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes on contributors
Wen-Tsung Hsu received his Ph.D. from the National Chengchi University. His research interests include strategic management, internationalization, CEO/top management team, and so on.
Hsiang-Lan Chen received her Ph.D. from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. She also has an M.B.A. in finance from the University of California, Riverside and a B.A. in business economics from University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests include corporate governance, corporate investment decisions, corporate financing decisions, and so on.
Mei Hsiu-Ching Ho received her Ph.D. from the Technishe Universiteit Eindhoven. She has published her research papers in Scientometrics, European Planning Studies, International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, and so on.