Family Firms and Research and Development Investment: The Moderator Effect of the Board Composition

From the perspective of agency and socio-emotional theories, family firm’s innovation behavior differs from non-family companies. We investigate relationship between element Research Development (R&D) investment, how moderating effect board composition affects this relationship. Using a panel data composed by 1,284 observations-year during period 2004-2014 Argentina, Brazil, Chile Mexico, empirical results show that firms increase R&D investment when is included. For instance, larger boards, independence board, COB-CEO duality female directors motivates to higher capital expenditures. These confirm constitutes monitoring mechanism members' actions, which leads an strategies suggest promote long-term orientation with purpose preserving wealth for next generations. This research contributes international literature analyzing region not explored before characterized weak institutional framework lower rates on compared other emerging countries.