Abstract
Recent research shows that despite having reached the corporate heights, female corporate leaders are still subject to gender bias. We contribute to this growing vein of literature by examining how female CEOs, as strategic leaders, can actively mitigate gender bias. We theorize that due to role incongruity perceptions, firms led by female CEOs are given lower long-term market valuations by investors. Yet we also propose that female CEOs may have the ability to actively influence investor perceptions through the firm’s strategic actions. Given R&D’s link to the male-type characteristic of risk-taking, we hypothesize that increasing R&D levels mitigates the effect of gender bias on firm valuation. Using a sample of public firms listed in China 2012 to 2019, we find that increased R&D weakens the negative relationship between female CEOs and the firm’s Tobin’s Q. We also find that female CEO power and top management team support positively interact with female CEO self-presentation strategy. We argue that these findings indicate that while investor gender bias may be a prevalent phenomenon, female CEOs are able to actively mitigate this bias though a self-presentation strategy.
Published Version
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