Board Diversity and R&D Investment: An Evidence from China

Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

^* Corresponding author: he.yq0206@outlook.com

Abstract

Innovation plays a crucial role in the survival and development of enterprises, and the investment in research and development (R&D) projects, as the core indicator for measuring innovation investment, has attracted much attention. In recent years, in order to explore the key factors that affect corporate innovation, scholars’ research perspectives have gradually focused on the level of corporate governance. This article uses empirical research methods to deeply analyze the intrinsic relationship between board diversity and research and development expenditures. The research results show that board diversity has a significant impact on R&D investment. Specifically, the negative impact of gender and age diversity is more prominent, while educational background diversity shows a clear positive driving effect. In addition, this article also found that board diversity often plays a role in inhibiting R&D investment in small-scale enterprises, while it can play a stronger promoting role in large-scale enterprises. The results of this article not only enrich the research in related fields such as upper echelons theory but also provide important references for corporate governance practice.