Hur påverkar företagsledningens könsfördelning innovationsförmåga och lönsamhet i forskningsintensiva branscher?

Sammanfattning: Purpose: ​The purpose of this study is to investigate ​how​, and ​under what circumstances​, gender diversity in top management teams affect firm performance in R&D intensive industries. We suggest innovation capabilities as a mediator in the relationship between gender diversity and firm performance. Methodology: ​A cross-sectional study is conducted based on quantitative data of 291 companies in the R&D intensive pharmaceutical industry. We introduce a new way of operationalizing innovation capabilities with R&D expenditures and weighted patent counts. Theoretical perspectives: ​This study is grounded in the Resource-Based View, Upper Echelons theory and previous research in order to develop a conceptual model. Empirical foundation: ​Data is collected concerning the gender of top management team members, R&D expenditures, patents, patent citations and financial ratios for our sample consisting of 291 companies. Conclusions: ​We find a positive and statistically significant correlation between gender diversity in top management teams and firm performance. Positive effects are observed even when there is only one woman in top management, when compared to teams with no women. These results contradict existing research on critical mass. We do not find support for the hypothesis that innovation capabilities mediates the relationship between gender diversity in top management teams and firm performance.