International Review of Financial Analysis· 2026Q1
Inherited culture and corporate innovation
- 2citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
CEOs' risk-taking propensity, derived from ancestral folklore, is linked to higher corporate innovation performance and more breakthrough innovations.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- CEO risk-taking propensity, measured via ancestral folklore, positively impacts corporate innovation.
- Firms with folklore-based risk-taking CEOs show improved innovation performance and more breakthrough innovations.
- The positive effect is stronger under high creative destruction and product market competition.
- Innovation is enhanced through improved efficiency, not just increased R&D investment.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
We use a cultural measure derived from folklore to study its economic outcomes. Specifically, we investigate the impact of CEO’s risk-taking propensity, derived from ancestral folklore, on corporate innovation. Our findings show that firms led by CEOs with higher levels of folklore-based risk-taking achieve better innovation performance and more breakthrough innovations. This effect is stronger when the company faces intense creative destruction pressures and heightened product market competition. We also find that CEOs enhance innovation by improving efficiency rather than increasing R&D investment. Our findings underscore the practical value of folklore as a cultural measure in understanding economic outcomes.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Review of Financial Analysis, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource ManagementBusiness, Management and Accounting