Topic:Does Enterprise Risk Management Spur Corporate Innovation?

Speaker:Dr. Jianren Xu(Assistant professor), The College of Business at University of North Texas

Site：A321

Time：14:00，June 4(Monday)，2018

Abstract：

Prior research on enterprise risk management (ERM) focuses on its impact on the financial services sector and its financial implications. Yet, how does ERM affect the real economy? ERM has been shown to reduce various types of firm risk. However, does it encourage firms to strategically increase risk to take opportunities for possible gains in the long-run? This study answers these questions by examining a homogeneous sample of S&P 500 firms, investigating whether ERM enhances corporate innovation. We find that companies with ERM tend to make greater R&D expenditures, and are able to generate greater innovation outputs as measured by patent count, citation-weighted patent count, and market-based patent value than those without ERM. Firms that have practiced ERM also embrace greater innovation efficiency. The positive impact of ERM on innovation lasts when forward-looking for several years. Our results are robust when controlling for the potential endogeneity of ERM adoption by using a treatment-effects approach, a propensity score matching procedure, and an array of other robustness tests.

Introduction to the Speaker：

Dr. Jianren Xu is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at the University of North Texas (UNT). Prior joining UNT, he worked as an Assistant Professor of Finance at California State University, Fullerton for three years. His research interests include corporate risk management, insurance markets, earnings management, and behavioral finance. He had also previously worked in the insurance industry for three years. He holds the designation of ARM (Associate in Risk Management) and passed two actuarial exams (P and FM). Dr. Xu earned his Ph.D. with a major in Risk Management and Insurance and a minor in Finance in 2014 from the University of Georgia. His works have been published in Journal of Risk and Insurance, North American Actuarial Journal, and Risk Management and Insurance Review. He won the Best Paper Awards from the Southwest Finance Association and the Western Risk and Insurance Association. He has also received several research grants\awards and teaching awards.