Do Informal Contracts Matter for Corporate Innovation? Evidence from Social Capital
研究发现，总部位于社会资本较高地区的企业创新更多，尤其在员工易受敲竹杠或信息不对称严重时，表明非正式合同对创新有重要作用。
We examine the relevance of informal contracting mechanisms for corporate innovation. Using social capital to capture the social costs imposed on opportunistic behavior by management, we report evidence that firms headquartered in states with higher levels of social capital are associated with more innovation. This result is more pronounced when employees are more susceptible to holdup (e.g., firms with low labor union coverage, firms located in states with weak legal protections for employees, and firms surrounded by few external employment opportunities) and when employees face higher levels of information asymmetry. Our study highlights the importance of informal contracts for innovation.