Managerial Demographics: Measurement and Implications for the Innovation Performance of Manufacturing Firms

Abstract

The present study addresses the perceived gap in literature on contribution of managerial demographics to the innovation performance of manufacturing firms of 12 European countries so as to highlight the distinctive role of managers in a broader context. The managerial demographics is conceptualised as the managerial knowledge(education and experience), gender role (number of female managers), leadership role (top manager's years of experience) and, management ratio. The effect of managerial demographics is examined on two dimensions of innovation performance: first, the propensity of firms to perform innovation and, second, the innovation intensity of firms. We report that the role of female managers in innovation is more significant, than that otherwise emphasised in innovation literature, as evident in case of countries under study. And, the number of female managers have a positive impact on the innovation performance of manufacturing firms. Moreover, the results show that managerial experience also have a non-linear effect on the innovation performance of manufacturing firms. Finally, the implications of the findings are discussed in-detail.