How CEOs Influence Innovation:An integrative framework of strategy formulation, implementation and context creation

Despite innovation’s critical importance for large, established firms,academic understanding on how CEOs internally drive their firm’sinnovation output remains in its infancy. This study therefore presentsan integrative framework that explains why and when CEOs influencetechnological innovation. We argue that CEOs with a research orientation– those with a dedication to and cognitive ability for research – steerorganizational effort towards innovation through strategy formulation,implementation and context creation. Empirical evidence from the USbiopharmaceutical industry reveals a significant effect of CEO researchorientation on technological innovation. The finding that the CEOinnovation relationship is only partially mediated by R&D strategyformulation open up fruitful directions for future research in studyingthe CEO’s role in innovatio