Corporate governance and innovation: does firm age matter?

This article investigates the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and innovation for firms of different ages. We blend data drawn from the ISS RiskMetrics and the Bureau van Dijk Orbis databases to perform micro-econometric analyses on a sample of 2200 listed firms. We show that CG may decrease research and development for all firms and that, more importantly, it has a significant and negative effect on the patenting strategy of the younger firms. Our results are consistent with the CG life cycle view, according to which young companies tend to privilege short-termism and value preservation rather than long-term risky innovation strategies. What shown and discussed in this contribution supports the proposition that firm age matters in how CG may alter innovation.