CONFIRMED: Accounting and Finance Department Research Seminar
The Department of Accounting & Finance announces the following research seminar. Speaker: Professor. Qinxi Wu (Baylor University) Title: Board Interlocks, Knowledge Spillovers, and Corporate Innovation Date: Friday, March 22, 2024 Time: 1:00-2:15 PM Location: via Zoom Meeting https://umassd.zoom.us/j/4387551509?pwd=bVB2QzdtRmFCdkk1WTVQSUxHMS9iQT09 Meeting ID: 438 755 1509 Abstract: We examine whether interlocking boards of directors help facilitate knowledge spillovers between firms. To capture exogenous variation in board interlocks, we use a novel identification strategy based on schedule conflicts between firms' annual shareholder meeting dates. For a variety of patent-based measures, we find that a board interlock significantly strengthens the impact of a source firm's innovation on downstream firms' innovation quantity, quality, and relatedness. Consistent with theories of board functioning, these spillover effects are reduced when one or both boards in an interlock have a higher proportion of outsiders. Spillover effects are strengthened, however, when boards are non-busy or when shared directors are younger or have more relevant innovation experience. We also find that higher source-firm patent quality and greater similarity between source-firm and downstream-firm innovation can enhance interlock-related spillovers. Overall, our findings suggest that board interlocks are an important channel through which scientific knowledge and innovation can flow between firms. For additional information, please contact Prof. Hongkang Xu at hxu5@umassd.edu.
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