Executives’ institutional reform experience, IP protection and R&D investment: Evidence from China's reform and opening up

Abstract

Times create heroes, and heroes shape the times. When transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy(reform and opening up), what traits are developed during the early adult lives of senior executives, and how do these traits influence corporate innovation behavior? This paper examines the impact of executives' experiences with institutional reform on their innovation behavior, utilizing a sample of Non-SOE listed companies from 2009 to 2019. The results indicate that executives who encountered institutional reform during their early adult years significantly influence corporate R&D investment. Furthermore, the level of intellectual property protection positively moderates this relationship. These conclusions remain robust after addressing endogeneity concerns and conducting robustness tests. Additional analyses reveal that the effect is more pronounced in corporations facing intense competition, lower economic policy uncertainty, and those within high-tech industries.