This thesis consist of two self-contained studies in the area of empirical
corporate finance. The first essay examines how directors with patenting
expertise affect corporate innovation. We find strong evidence of a positive
relation between inventor-directors and firm innovation. Firms with inventors
on their boards spend more on R&D, generate more patents, and their patents
receive a higher number of citations and have greater economic value. The
effects are stronger when inventor-directors are active and more influential.
Additionally, we find that firms with inventor-directors are more likely to
engage in radical and explorative innovations across a wider array of
technology classes. Our results shed light on the importance of directors’
innovation experience in facilitating firms’ innovation efforts.

The second essay studies the impact of female inventor-directors on the
performance of female inventors within firms. We find that female directors
with innovation (patenting) experience are positively related to the patenting
performance of a firm’s female inventors as measured by the number, citations,
value, and importance of patents they file. Firms with female
inventor-directors employ more female inventors, who are more productive,
and have a greater contribution to firm innovation. Further results show that
the innovation productivity gender gap between male and female inventors
shrinks with the presence of female inventor-directors. These effects are more
pronounced when the female director is a star inventor.