A comparative study between countries on gender diversity, openness and innovation

Purpose - Diversity subject is rising globally, as the proportion of women in the workforce increased to a large extent and the variety of resources became greater. Diversity attempts have appealed more awareness to the value of female participation in various areas, notably in the boardroom and corporate governance. This study tests the relationships among gender diversity, openness, and innovation, at the firm level across countries from the MOI Survey. Research design, data, and methodology - In this study the relationships among gender diversity, openness, and innovation were investigated at the firm level across countries from the Management, Organisation, and Innovation (MOI) Survey. A cross-cultural analysis was conducted based on the empirical evidence from six countries: Germany, India, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Russia. Result - The results show that gender diversity is positively related to innovation performance, moreover openness is positively associated with the level of firm innovation. In addition, a company s capability to use knowledge from outside and the creation of new combinations positively influence a firm s potential to innovate. Conclusion - This study suggests that the more gender-diverse top management team and the higher openness may bring the firm’s innovation with greater possibility. the paper encourages more female participation on top management on the grounds of recommending that firms with greater gender diverse top management teams.