Enforceability of noncompetition agreements and firm innovation: does state regulation matter?

Desheng Yin, Iftekhar Hasan, Nada Kobeissi, Haizhi Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we examine how noncompetition agreements and the mobility of human capital–a core asset of any firm–affect innovations of publicly traded firms in the United States. We find that firms in states with stricter noncompetition enforcement have fewer patent applications. We also examine patent forward citations and find that tougher enforcement of such contracts is associated with less innovative patents. Notably, we find that stronger enforcement of noncompetition agreements impedes innovation for firms facing intense industry labor mobility. High-powered, equity-based compensation positively moderates the relationship between noncompetition enforcement and innovation, but only for the quality of innovation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)270-286
Number of pages17
JournalInnovation: Organization and Management
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 3 Apr 2017

Keywords

  • Noncompetition agreements
  • industry labor mobility
  • innovation
  • long-term oriented compensation
  • mobility of human capital
  • state regulation

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