Inventor CEOs and innovation resource allocation efficiency in business groups

While prior studies offer conflicting evidence on inventor CEOs’ innovation role, we find that inventor CEOs act as allocators of innovation resources within Chinese business groups: their technical cognition directs attention towards innovation and drives cross-entity resource allocation, improving group-wide innovation resource allocation efficiency, with stronger effects in subsidiaries. The mechanisms involve alleviating financing constraints, expanding R&D teams, and strengthening innovation-oriented governance. This effect is more pronounced in low-marketization regions, non-high-tech groups, and groups with more cross-provincial subsidiaries. Our results indicate that inventor CEOs prioritize group-wide innovation benefits over those of individual firms.