CEO’s Political Conservatism and Patent Activities : The Mediating Role of Entrepreneurial Orientation

This study explores how CEO political conservatism affects patent activities,examining the role of entrepreneurial orientation as a mediator by conductinga survey of 187 Korean CEOs across various industries. Findings reveal that CEOpolitical conservatism significantly and positively impacts patent activities:the more conservative the CEO, the higher the patent activities. Regardingthe effect of CEO political conservatism on entrepreneurial orientation,conservative CEOs significantly and positively affect innovativeness,significantly and negatively affect risk-taking, and have an insignificant effecton proactiveness. All dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation significantlyand positively affected patent activities. Regarding the mediation role ofentrepreneurial orientation, it was found that innovativeness and risk-takingmediate the relationship between CEO political conservatism and patentactivities, while proactiveness does not. This study contributes to the literatureby demonstrating that CEO political conservatism positively influences patentactivities, highlighting the importance of leadership beliefs in shaping a firm’sinnovativeness. It also elucidates the mediating role of entrepreneurialorientation, revealing that CEO political conservatism can foster patentactivities more efficiently with the organizational culture of innovativenessand risk-taking.