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Lean in”: the moderating effect of female ownership on the relationship between human capital and organizational innovation

Yanli Fu (Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, China)
Ruiming Liu (The National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China)
Jifeng Yang (Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China)
Hao Jiao (Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China)
Yuke Jin (Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China)

Journal of Intellectual Capital

ISSN: 1469-1930

Article publication date: 25 July 2020

Issue publication date: 21 May 2021

760

Abstract

Purpose

With the aim of shedding new light on the characteristics of human capital in its relationship with organizational innovation, this paper develops a novel theoretical and empirical exploration of the characteristics of human capital, both executives' experience and employees' average education level, as well as the moderating effect of female ownership, on two different aspects of organizational innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were obtained from the World Bank's China private manufacturing enterprise questionnaire survey. The study employs regression analysis of a logistic model using 1,598 samples, because the dependent variable of an organization's innovation index is a binary variable.

Findings

Using World Bank survey data of Chinese private manufacturing enterprises, the authors find that executives' experience has a significantly positive effect on process innovation. Female ownership strengthens the relationship between executives' experience and process innovation. Moreover, the results indicate that employees' average educational level has a significantly positive effect on product innovation. Female ownership strengthens the relationships between employees' average educational level and organizational innovation including product innovation and process innovation. This study highlights the importance of simultaneously testing the effects of human capital and gender heterogeneity on organizational innovation activities.

Originality/value

This study explores the impact of human capital on organizational innovation activities in the context of the Chinese manufacturing industry. Moreover, organizational innovation activities are divided into two aspects: product innovation and process innovation. This study separately discusses the effect of human capital on these two kinds of innovation in detail. Finally, female ownership is selected as a moderating variable, and it is demonstrated that interactions of female owners with executives' experience and employees' average educational level have a positive impact on increasing different kinds of organizational innovation. The authors identify new boundary conditions for the domain of female research that are sorely lacking in the present literature.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to JIC editor Prof. Merrill Warkentin and anonymous reviewers for their many constructive insights and suggestions in improving this article. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (71572017) and National Social Science Foundation’s major project of China (19ZDA077).

Citation

Fu, Y., Liu, R., Yang, J., Jiao, H. and Jin, Y. (2021), "“Lean in”: the moderating effect of female ownership on the relationship between human capital and organizational innovation", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 792-814. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-10-2019-0236

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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