The role of board settings and climate for creativity, board member creativity, board diversity and environment in the relationship between board creativity and innovation ambidexterity: An empirical study on corporate boards

The research problem is that there is an academic need for exploring the relationships among board member creativity, board settings and climate for creativity, board creativity, board diversity, technology and market turbulence, competitive intensity and board decisions for exploitative and exploratory innovation. The purpose is to bridge a theoretical gap which can to be filled by empirical research investigating these relationships. The research sample is 153 board members who serve on corporate boards of companies located in Istanbul. The research design is exploratory and descriptive. PLS-SEM methods and SmartPLS 3.0 software are applied to analyze the proposed research model. There are direct relationships between board settings and climate for creativity and board creativity, and board diversity and board creativity. Board settings and climate for creativity and board diversity mediate the relationship between board member creativity and board creativity, and board creativity mediates the relationship between board settings and climate for creativity and board decisions for exploitative innovation, and between board diversity and decisions for exploratory innovation. Technology and market turbulence as moderating factors do not moderate the relationship between board creativity and board decisions for exploitative innovation, and between board creativity and board decisions for exploratory innovation. Competitive intensity and environment as a sum total moderate the relationship between board creativity and board decisions for exploitative innovation, yet they do not moderate the relationship between board creativity and board decisions for exploratory innovation. Key words: corporate governance, corporate boards, board members, creativity, diversity, decision making, ambidexterity, exploitative innovation, exploratory innovation