Western cultural influence on corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies

This study presents robust findings that Western cultural influence, as measured by Starbucks stores, significantly improves corporate innovation outcomes at nearby Chinese listed firms. These outcomes are generated by risk-taking in research and development investment, more aggressive CEO compensation packages, and tougher intellectual property protection. Our results show greater significance in areas where local cultural influence is less, industries are highly competitive, and non-state-owned enterprises are less prevalent. We generate insights into the cumulative and the incremental impact of Western cultural influence on firm innovation using yearly data on the number of Starbucks stores and new store openings within a given area.