The Impact of Family-Based Human Capital on Corporate Innovation: Evidence from Sibling-Chairpersons in China

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Xu, Nianhang; Chan, Kam C.; Xie, Rongrong; Chen, Qinyuan; Agarwal, Sumit
• 署名单位: Renmin University of China; Shanghai Business School; Central University of Finance & Economics; Nanjing University; National University of Singapore
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2023.4965
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 7062-7089
• 关键词: innovation; siblings; family-based human capital; One-child policy

摘要

We examine the impact of family-based human capital stemming from a chairperson's having siblings vis-a`-vis not having siblings on corporate innovation in Chinese family firms. Using hand-collected data, we document that when a firm has a siblingchairperson, it holds more patents, receives more total citations to its patents, and has greater innovation efficiency and innovation quality than an otherwise equivalent firm with a chairperson having no siblings. The results are economically significant and robust to a battery of robustness checks. Specifically, the findings remain intact after using China's one-child policy as an exogenous shock to apply a regression discontinuity research design to mitigate endogeneity. Additional analyses suggest that the mechanisms behind the impact of siblings on innovation are consistent with family-based human capital embedded in the sibling relationships such as competition, knowledge spillover, and family firm succession effect among siblings. Furthermore, we show that sibling comanagement and sibling gender diversity matter in corporate innovation. In addition, sibling effect enhances corporate investment efficiency, stock returns, and merger and acquisition performance. Overall, family-based human capital from siblings positively contributes to corporate innovation.