Board feminization and innovation through corporate venture capital investments: The moderating effects of independence and management skills

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between board feminization and innovation through corporate venture capital (CVC) investments, as well as the moderating effects on this relationship of independence and management skills. This study relies on a set of unique data to measure CVC activity for all French-listed companies that undertook a CVC strategy between 2000 and 2018. We found that the appointment of female independent directors impeded CVC investments, whereas the appointment of female directors with management backgrounds enhanced such investments. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of board feminization. Overall, our results enrich the debate on the usefulness of these innovation vehicles for the French economy.