Innovation by start-up firms: The role of the board of directors for knowledge spillovers

Abstract This paper investigates whether board directors interlocked with or employed by innovative firms affect start-up firms’ propensity to be innovators themselves. Drawing upon a sample of more than 50,000 Swedish start-up firms, we find that board connections to incumbent innovators have a causal impact on the new firms’ probability to apply for patents. The results are robust when controlling for industry, geography, firm age, as well as spillovers through worker and managerial mobility, external knowledge sourcing through patent disclosure, access to venture capital and board attributes.