CEOs’ uncommon names and corporate innovation
I study the relationship between a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’s uncommon name and corporate innovation. Consistent with the view that individuals with uncommon names prefer being distinctive, I document a significant positive relationship between CEO name uncommonness and corporate innovation qua...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Economics & Finance |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23322039.2022.2147646 |
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| Summary: | I study the relationship between a Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’s uncommon name and corporate innovation. Consistent with the view that individuals with uncommon names prefer being distinctive, I document a significant positive relationship between CEO name uncommonness and corporate innovation quantity but not quality. To mitigate endogeneity concerns, I use the death of the CEO as a plausible exogenous shock and find results are robust in the difference-in-differences setting. I further show that the impact on innovation output is concentrated in the areas that are well-known to the company, of low economic value, and have a low scientific impact. Overall, the findings presented in this paper suggests that the heightened innovation activities by uncommonly named CEO exacerbate the investment distortions. |
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| ISSN: | 2332-2039 |