IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v15y2024i1d10.1007_s13132-023-01113-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ideological Imprints and Corporate Innovation: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Syed Tauseef Ali

    (Dongbei University of Finance and Economics)

  • Joseph H. Zhang

    (The University of Memphis)

  • Farman Ali

    (King Faisal University)

  • Misraku Molla Ayalew

    (Dilla University)

  • Muhammad Ullah

    (Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology)

Abstract

This study draws insights from the imprinting theory to investigate the impact of ideologically imprinted board chairs on corporate innovation. By examining a sample of Chinese listed manufacturing firms from 2003 to 2016, we find that firms with board chairs who get socialized during the hardline communist regime enhance corporate innovation. Further, we observe that such a positive effect on corporate innovation is more pronounced for firms where board chairs have more power on the board. However, their industry experience attenuates the documented positive relation. Overall, we provide empirical support to our arguments that intense adverse experiences such as the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward Movements make top executives more sensitive to government demands, such as achieving annual patent targets, thus spurring corporate innovation. Our findings extend imprinting theory by elaborating that the intense political environment plays a crucial role in establishing an individual’s imprints which prevail for a long time irrespective of subsequent ideological changes. These findings provide fresh insights on the dynamics of ideological decay and persistence.

Suggested Citation

  • Syed Tauseef Ali & Joseph H. Zhang & Farman Ali & Misraku Molla Ayalew & Muhammad Ullah, 2024. "Ideological Imprints and Corporate Innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 1029-1068, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s13132-023-01113-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-023-01113-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-023-01113-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-023-01113-2?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wagner, Stefan & Wakeman, Simon, 2016. "What do patent-based measures tell us about product commercialization? Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 1091-1102.
    2. Piperopoulos, Panagiotis & Wu, Jie & Wang, Chengqi, 2018. "Outward FDI, location choices and innovation performance of emerging market enterprises," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 232-240.
    3. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C., 2018. "Living through the Great Chinese Famine: Early-life experiences and managerial decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 638-657.
    4. Karen A. Bantel & Susan E. Jackson, 1989. "Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the top team make a difference?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(S1), pages 107-124, June.
    5. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    6. Hu, Jun & Li, Antai & Luo, Yonggen, 2019. "CEO early life experiences and cash holding: Evidence from China's great famine," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. Zhang, Liang & Zhang, Zhe & Jia, Ming & Ren, Yeyao, 2020. "The Strength of Two Hands: Conflicting Stakeholder Pressures and Corporate Philanthropic Giving," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 335-375, May.
    8. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    9. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2015. "Mixing business with politics: Political participation by entrepreneurs in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 220-235.
    10. Xiaorong Li & Kam C. Chan & Haitao Ma, 2020. "Communist party direct control and corporate investment efficiency: evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 195-217, March.
    11. Jing Li & Jun Xia & Edward J. Zajac, 2018. "On the duality of political and economic stakeholder influence on firm innovation performance: Theory and evidence from Chinese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1), pages 193-216, January.
    12. Cuili Qian & Heli Wang & Xuesong Geng & Yangxin Yu, 2017. "Rent appropriation of knowledge-based assets and firm performance when institutions are weak: A study of Chinese publicly listed firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 892-911, April.
    13. Bruton, Garry D. & Rubanik, Yuri, 2002. "Resources of the firm, Russian high-technology startups, and firm growth," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 553-576, October.
    14. Choi, Suk Bong & Lee, Soo Hee & Williams, Christopher, 2011. "Ownership and firm innovation in a transition economy: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 441-452, April.
    15. Raquel Ortega-Argilés & Rosina Moreno & Jordi Caralt, 2005. "Ownership structure and innovation: is there a real link?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 39(4), pages 637-662, December.
    16. Carolin Decker & Christina Günther, 2017. "The impact of family ownership on innovation: evidence from the German machine tool industry," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 199-212, January.
    17. Zhong, Rong (Irene), 2018. "Transparency and firm innovation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 67-93.
    18. Steve Pejovich**, 1987. "Freedom, Property Rights and Innovation in Socialism," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 461-475, November.
    19. Kong, Dongmin & Pan, Yue & Tian, Gary Gang & Zhang, Pengdong, 2020. "CEOs' hometown connections and access to trade credit: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    20. M. Ameziane Lasfer, 2006. "The Interrelationship Between Managerial Ownership and Board Structure," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(7‐8), pages 1006-1033, September.
    21. Colombo, Massimo G. & Delmastro, Marco & Grilli, Luca, 2004. "Entrepreneurs' human capital and the start-up size of new technology-based firms," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 22(8-9), pages 1183-1211, November.
    22. Frédéric Delmar & Scott Shane, 2006. "Does Experience Matter? : The Effect of Founding Team Experience on the Survival and Sales of Newly Founded Ventures," Post-Print hal-02311638, HAL.
    23. Vinit M. Desai, 2008. "Constrained Growth: How Experience, Legitimacy, and Age Influence Risk Taking in Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(4), pages 594-608, August.
    24. Antoinette Schoar & Luo Zuo, 2017. "Shaped by Booms and Busts: How the Economy Impacts CEO Careers and Management Styles," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(5), pages 1425-1456.
    25. Sun, Wenbin & Ding, Yuan, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and cash flow volatility: The curvilinear moderation of marketing capability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 48-59.
    26. Sunder, Jayanthi & Sunder, Shyam V. & Zhang, Jingjing, 2017. "Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(1), pages 209-224.
    27. Suddaby, Roy & Bruton, Garry D. & Si, Steven X., 2015. "Entrepreneurship through a qualitative lens: Insights on the construction and/or discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 1-10.
    28. Christopher S. Tuggle & David G. Sirmon & Christopher R. Reutzel & Leonard Bierman, 2010. "Commanding board of director attention: investigating how organizational performance and CEO duality affect board members' attention to monitoring," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(9), pages 946-968, September.
    29. repec:bla:kyklos:v:40:y:1987:i:4:p:461-75 is not listed on IDEAS
    30. Gina Dokko & Steffanie L. Wilk & Nancy P. Rothbard, 2009. "Unpacking Prior Experience: How Career History Affects Job Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 51-68, February.
    31. 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.
    32. Kevin Zheng Zhou & Julie Juan Li & Nan Zhou & Chenting Su, 2008. "Market orientation, job satisfaction, product quality, and firm performance: evidence from China," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(9), pages 985-1000, September.
    33. Michael Firth & Peter M. Y. Fung & Oliver M. Rui, 2006. "Firm Performance, Governance Structure, and Top Management Turnover in a Transitional Economy," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1289-1330, September.
    34. Ulrike Malmendier & Stefan Nagel, 2011. "Depression Babies: Do Macroeconomic Experiences Affect Risk Taking?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(1), pages 373-416.
    35. Gennaro Bernile & Vineet Bhagwat & P. Raghavendra Rau, 2017. "What Doesn't Kill You Will Only Make You More Risk-Loving: Early-Life Disasters and CEO Behavior," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(1), pages 167-206, February.
    36. Esther Tippmann & Pamela Sharkey Scott & Andrew Parker, 2017. "Boundary Capabilities in MNCs: Knowledge Transformation for Creative Solution Development," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 455-482, June.
    37. Bill McEvily & Jonathan Jaffee & Marco Tortoriello, 2012. "Not All Bridging Ties Are Equal: Network Imprinting and Firm Growth in the Nashville Legal Industry, 1933–1978," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(2), pages 547-563, April.
    38. Sydney Finkelstein & Donald C. Hambrick, 1989. "Chief executive compensation: A study of the intersection of markets and political processes," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(2), pages 121-134, March.
    39. Kini, Omesh & Williams, Ryan, 2012. "Tournament incentives, firm risk, and corporate policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 350-376.
    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. Xue, Fei & Wang, Xin & Xie, Yan & Zhang, Weihua, 2022. "Does CEO's early life experience affect corporate bond yield spread? Evidence from China's great famine," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1012-1024.
    2. Qing Wan & Xiaoke Cheng & Kam C. Chan & Shenghao Gao, 2021. "Born to innovate? The birth‐order effect of CEOs on corporate innovation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(9-10), pages 1846-1888, October.
    3. Chen, Jie & Lasfer, Meziane & Song, Wei & Zhou, Si, 2021. "Recession managers and mutual fund performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Han, Yu & Chi, Wei & Zhou, Jinyi, 2022. "Prosocial imprint: CEO childhood famine experience and corporate philanthropic donation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 1604-1618.
    5. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_015 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Nadia Loukil & Ouidad Yousfi, 2022. "Do CEO’s traits matter in innovation outcomes?," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 375-403, September.
    7. Hong Ru & Endong Yang & Kunru Zou, 2021. "Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of the SARS Imprint," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5606-5615, September.
    8. Christopher Kurzhals & Lorenz Graf‐Vlachy & Andreas König, 2020. "Strategic leadership and technological innovation: A comprehensive review and research agenda," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 437-464, November.
    9. Sun, Zixiong & Anderson, Hamish & Chi, Jing, 2023. "Managerial foreign experience and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    10. Jun Hu & Wenbin Long & Gary Gang Tian & Daifei (Troy) Yao, 2020. "CEOs’ experience of the Great Chinese Famine and accounting conservatism," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(9-10), pages 1089-1112, October.
    11. Kong, Dongmin & Zhao, Ying & Liu, Shasha, 2021. "Trust and innovation: Evidence from CEOs' early-life experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    12. Su, Zhong-qin & Xu, Yuyang & Xiao, Zuoping & Fung, Hung-Gay, 2020. "Directors’ prior life experience and corporate donations: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. Clark Liu & Johan Sulaeman & Tao Shu & P Eric Yeung, 2023. "Life is Too Short? Bereaved Managers and Investment Decisions," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 27(4), pages 1373-1421.
    14. Gu, Leilei & Li, Jianjun & Ni, Xiaoran & Peng, Yuchao, 2023. "The long shadow beyond lockdown: Board chairs’ professional pandemic experiences and corporate investments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 522-541.
    15. Donghua Zhou & Min Bai & Xiaoqin Liang & Yafeng Qin, 2021. "The Early‐life Political Event Experience of the Chair of the Board and the Firm's Innovation Decision," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 31(3), pages 186-212, September.
    16. Hao, Ying & Huang, Yuxiu & Cui, Xuegang & Liu, Qiang & Zhang, Yuwen, 2021. "CEO experience and corporate financing decisions: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Blank, D. Brian & Hadley, Brandy, 2021. "When CEOs adapt: An investigation of manager experience, policy and performance following recessions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Long, Wenbin & Tian, Gary Gang & Hu, Jun & Yao, Daifei (Troy), 2020. "Bearing an imprint: CEOs' early-life experience of the Great Chinese Famine and stock price crash risk," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    19. Ru, Hong & Yang, Endong & Zou, Kunru, 2020. "Combating the COVID-19 pandemic : The role of the SARS imprint," BOFIT Discussion Papers 15/2020, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    20. Nian Li & Chunling Li & Runsen Yuan & Muhammad Asif Khan & Xiaoran Sun & Nosherwan Khaliq, 2021. "Investor Attention and Corporate Innovation Performance: Evidence from Web Search Volume Index of Chinese Listed Companies," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-23, April.
    21. Ting, Hsiu-I & Wang, Ming-Chun & Yang, J. Jimmy & Tuan, Kai-Wen, 2021. "Technical expert CEOs and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    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:spr:jknowl:v:15:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s13132-023-01113-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.