Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation

Jayanthi Sunder; Shyam V. Sunder; Jingjing Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.11.002

Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation

Jayanthi Sunder, Shyam V. Sunder, Jingjing Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

338 Scopus citations

Abstract

We find evidence that chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) hobby of flying airplanes is associated with significantly better innovation outcomes, measured by patents and citations, greater innovation effectiveness, and more diverse and original patents. We rule out alternative explanations, leading us to conclude that CEO pilot credentials capture the personality trait of sensation seeking. Sensation seeking combines risk taking with a desire to pursue novel experiences and has been associated with creativity. Our evidence highlights sensation seeking as a valuable personality trait that can be used to identify CEOs who are likely to drive innovation success.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	209-224
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Financial Economics
Volume	123
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.11.002
State	Published - Jan 1 2017
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

CEOs
Innovation
Intrinsic motivation
Personality traits
Sensation seeking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Accounting
Finance
Economics and Econometrics
Strategy and Management

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10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.11.002

Cite this

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title = "Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation",

abstract = "We find evidence that chief executive officers{\textquoteright} (CEOs{\textquoteright}) hobby of flying airplanes is associated with significantly better innovation outcomes, measured by patents and citations, greater innovation effectiveness, and more diverse and original patents. We rule out alternative explanations, leading us to conclude that CEO pilot credentials capture the personality trait of sensation seeking. Sensation seeking combines risk taking with a desire to pursue novel experiences and has been associated with creativity. Our evidence highlights sensation seeking as a valuable personality trait that can be used to identify CEOs who are likely to drive innovation success.",

keywords = "CEOs, Innovation, Intrinsic motivation, Personality traits, Sensation seeking",

author = "Jayanthi Sunder and Sunder, {Shyam V.} and Jingjing Zhang",

note = "Funding Information: We thank David Yermack (the referee), Bill Schwert (the editor), Steve Fortin, Jiro Kondo, Adolfo de Motta, Zvi Singer, Kelly Wentland (the discussant), seminar participants at Arizona State University, Concordia University, McGill University, Michigan State University, and conference participants at the 2014 Kellogg Accounting Conference at Northwestern University, 2015 Conference on Convergence of Financial and Managerial Accounting Research, and 2015 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting for helpful comments. We also thank Xiao Zhang for excellent research assistance. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University and the Eller College of Management at University of Arizona. All errors are our own. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Elsevier B.V.",

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doi = "10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.11.002",

language = "English (US)",

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AU - Sunder, Shyam V.

AU - Zhang, Jingjing

N1 - Funding Information: We thank David Yermack (the referee), Bill Schwert (the editor), Steve Fortin, Jiro Kondo, Adolfo de Motta, Zvi Singer, Kelly Wentland (the discussant), seminar participants at Arizona State University, Concordia University, McGill University, Michigan State University, and conference participants at the 2014 Kellogg Accounting Conference at Northwestern University, 2015 Conference on Convergence of Financial and Managerial Accounting Research, and 2015 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting for helpful comments. We also thank Xiao Zhang for excellent research assistance. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University and the Eller College of Management at University of Arizona. All errors are our own. Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Elsevier B.V.

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N2 - We find evidence that chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) hobby of flying airplanes is associated with significantly better innovation outcomes, measured by patents and citations, greater innovation effectiveness, and more diverse and original patents. We rule out alternative explanations, leading us to conclude that CEO pilot credentials capture the personality trait of sensation seeking. Sensation seeking combines risk taking with a desire to pursue novel experiences and has been associated with creativity. Our evidence highlights sensation seeking as a valuable personality trait that can be used to identify CEOs who are likely to drive innovation success.

AB - We find evidence that chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) hobby of flying airplanes is associated with significantly better innovation outcomes, measured by patents and citations, greater innovation effectiveness, and more diverse and original patents. We rule out alternative explanations, leading us to conclude that CEO pilot credentials capture the personality trait of sensation seeking. Sensation seeking combines risk taking with a desire to pursue novel experiences and has been associated with creativity. Our evidence highlights sensation seeking as a valuable personality trait that can be used to identify CEOs who are likely to drive innovation success.

KW - CEOs

KW - Innovation

KW - Intrinsic motivation

KW - Personality traits

KW - Sensation seeking

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Pilot CEOs and corporate innovation

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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