Stakeholder Engagement and Firms’ Innovation: Evidence from LGBT-Supportive Policies

There is a paucity of research on the effects corporate policies have on fostering innovative activities in firms, while research and development (R&D) investments offer a source of innovations in firms. Using governance data from Kinder, Lyndenberg, and Domini (KLD) Research and Analytics, Inc., R&D and financial data from Compustat, and market data from CRSP during the period from 1996 through 2011 this paper investigates whether Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) -supportive corporate policies promote innovative activities in US firms. To the extent that LGBT–friendly policies allow inclusive working environments and therefore attract and retain talents, corporate can engage more in innovative activities. The findings show that firms with LGBT–supportive policies nurture employees’ commitment to the firms and engage more in innovative activities. Heckman selection model, propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-difference results all confirm the main findings from instrumental variable (IV) analyses.