The influence of returnee technology executives on enterprise innovation: the innovation patent data of global exchange market listed companies

In this paper, the innovation patent data of 344 Chinese Global Exchange Market (GEM) listed companies from 2014 to 2018 is manually collected, and the effect of returnee technology executives (RTEs) on enterprise innovativeness is examined based on the empirical theory of the high ladder team. The study finds that RTEs promote enterprise innovation and that this effect persists after controlling for endogeneity and self-selection problems. By comparing the difference in the effect of RTEs on breakthrough innovation and non-breakthrough innovation, the study found that RTEs had a more significant role in promoting enterprise breakthrough innovation. Furthermore, through executive group analysis, it is found that Returnee Technology Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) have more potently positive effect on promoting enterprise innovation especially breakthrough innovation and RTEs exert greater prominence in fostering innovation in companies across developed coastal areas. The research theoretically expands and deepens the investigation on the rapport between enterprise executive characteristics and innovation, highlights the importance of the human capital of overseas returnees in practice, and has a certain guiding significance for enterprise talent introduction policies.