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Research Question/Issue: This paper examines R&D investment decisions in firms under a pyramidal ownership structure in the context of South Korea.Research Findings/Insights: Using the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, which places limits on group affiliates' equity investments, we provide new evidence that controlling owners tend to increase long-term R&D expenditures more in firms that are largely subject to the equity investment regulation in South Korea. Moreover, this result is more significant for firms for which the owners have low cash-flow rights, firms located in the lower layers of the pyramid, and firms that hold less equity shares than do other group affiliates.Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study contributes to the literature that focuses on R&D investment decisions by providing empirical support regarding how firms' relative status within their business group influences the firms' R&D investment decisions in South Korea.Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study provides important insight into the positive policy implications of the equity investment regulation on R&D investments for Korean business groups.

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We examine the impact of CEO marital status on firm innovative efficiency. We find that firms led by married CEOs produce 8% more patents and citations per unit of investment and generate more explorative patents. Married CEOs create a culture of tolerance among their employees that is conducive to risk taking, and their firms produce more efficient innovation (1) in regions that value social capital and (2) in firms that value favorable employee treatment. We find that the tolerant culture of married CEO firms produces more efficient innovation when occurring in tandem with mechanisms facilitating a long‐term strategic orientation.

Interest in the drivers of firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) is growing. However, little is known about the influence of a CEO’s childhood experience of natural disasters on CSR. Using archival data, we explore this relationship by offering three mechanisms that may account for how the CEO’s childhood experience of natural disaster is related to their CSR. More specifically, while prior research has established a positive relationship based on the post-traumatic growth theory, we show that the dual mechanisms of prosocial values and a CEO’s risk aversion explain the positive relationship. We further find that the positive relationship is stronger (1) when CEOs have longer career horizons and (2) when community social capital is high. This study contributes to both research and managerial implications on the topics of CEO’s childhood experience and CSR. In particular, this study advances the upper echelon theory by revealing that a CEO’s childhood experience of natural disaster is a useful yet relatively underexplored variable that can help explain the substantial variations in firms’ CSR. Moreover, we emphasize that a CEO’s career horizons and level of community social capital are important variables that further amplify the effect of a CEO’s childhood experience of natural disaster on the firm’s CSR commitment.