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A Cognitive Approach to Diversity: Investigating the Impact of Board of Directors’ Educational and Functional Heterogeneity on Innovation Performance

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  • Ramzi Belkacemi
  • Kamal Bouzinab
  • Andrew Papadopoulos

Abstract

Boards’ diversity has been studied mainly through the prism of ethics, which translated into a focus on characteristics such as gender and ethnicity. However, when the goal is to explain organizational outcomes, the cognitive approach seems more pertinent. Thus, rooted in a resource dependency perspective, this paper investigates the potential impact of directors’ deep level diversity (functional and educational diversity) on innovation performance based on an international sample of 97 firms for a total of 1027 directors. The findings highlight the negative effect of functional diversity (measured by diversity in the sectors of expertise), and on the opposite, the positive impact of educational diversity (measured by diversity in the fields of study) on innovation performance. This study also shows that the environment in which organizations evolve, both at the internal and external level, is crucial when it comes to innovation performance. These results are robust in that they remain consistent after addressing some potential endogeneity issues and have critical implications for both the professional and academic world.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramzi Belkacemi & Kamal Bouzinab & Andrew Papadopoulos, 2023. "A Cognitive Approach to Diversity: Investigating the Impact of Board of Directors’ Educational and Functional Heterogeneity on Innovation Performance," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(2), pages 1-1, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibn:ijbmjn:v:16:y:2023:i:2:p:1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Philippe Aghion & Nick Bloom & Richard Blundell & Rachel Griffith & Peter Howitt, 2005. "Competition and Innovation: an Inverted-U Relationship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 701-728.
    2. Stephen Bear & Noushi Rahman & Corinne Post, 2010. "The Impact of Board Diversity and Gender Composition on Corporate Social Responsibility and Firm Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 207-221, December.
    3. David Aboody & Baruch Lev, 2000. "Information Asymmetry, R&D, and Insider Gains," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2747-2766, December.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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