Female venture capitalists on boards and firm innovation in China

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper empirically examines the representation of female venture capitalists (VCs) on boards and how they exert substantial influence on firm innovation performance in China. We first identify a positive association between female VCs’ board participation and firm innovation, implying that Chinese female VCs contribute to growing resource commitments and greater success in innovation through quality board services in portfolio firms. We then show that firms with female VC board directors exhibit a lower adverse effect of managerial myopia, capital market pressure, and product market competition on innovation activities. These results are robust to the use of instrumental variable (IV) estimations, subsamples, and alternative variable definitions.KEYWORDS: Managerial short-termismcapital market pressureproduct market competitionJEL CLASSIFICATIONS: G30G34J16O30 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Chinese high-tech industries include: Medical and Pharmaceutical Products, Aircraft and Spacecraft, Electronic and Telecommunications Equipment, Computer and Office Equipment and Medical Equipment and Meters.2 The PSM matching results are reported in Appendix 2. The differences in the average treatment effects (ATT) on R&D ratio and patent between the control and treatment for the two pairs of groups equal to 0.009 with t-value of 8.68 and 0.585 with t-value of 22.51 after matching, respectively.3 There are three broad categories of patents in China’s patent system, including new design, new utility and invention, arranged in order of increasing value in terms of commercial and innovation (Wang, Li, and Furman Citation2017).Additional informationFundingThis paper was supported by the National Office for Philosophy and Social Science of China under National Social Science Fund programs [grant number 20AJL017]. It was also supported by Ningbo Science and Technology Bureau under S&T Innovation 2025 Major and Special Program [grant number 2022Z243] and Soft Science Research Project (2022R018). All errors remain the responsibility of the authors.Notes on contributorsJiani FanJiani Fan is currently a lecturer in financial management at Ningbo University of Finance and Economics. She obtained her Ph.D. in digital technologies from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Her research interests encompass digital economies, corporate finance, and innovation finance. She has contributed articles to many international journals. Dr. Fan was the principal investigator for several research grants.Xiuping HuaXiuping Hua is currently a professor of finance at Nottingham University Business School China. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Finance from the University of Sheffield Management School (UK). Prof. Hua's interests include financial technology, innovation finance, and inclusive finance. She has published articles in various academic journals and has also served as a principal investigator for many research grants.Miao WangMiao Wang currently holds the position of preliminary year tutor in business and economics at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, along with being a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in finance from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Her primary research areas encompass innovation, corporate finance, and government subsidies. She has contributed articles to various international journals and has also served as a reviewer for such journals.Yong WangYong Wang is currently an associate professor of economics and Academic Deputy Dean of the Institute of New Structural Economics at Peking University. He obtained his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. Before joining PKU, he worked at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the World Bank. His main research fields include Economic Growth, Industrial Upgrading, Macro Development, China and India's Economy, and New Structural Economics. He publishes academic papers in international journals and serves as a co-editor and associate editor for such journals. He has also been involved in many important policy projects.