Board recruitment as a strategic answer: Do companies' strategies for innovation influence the selection of new board members?

Different strategies for innovation lead to specific profiles of new board members in terms of human and social capital, which shows that board selection is a strategic answer for innovation. Studying 735 French companies, we show the influence of four types of innovation strategies on the human capital (education and experience) and social capital (relationships) of new board members. Results show that specific strategies for innovation require specific profiles on board, which emphasizes the importance of board capital requirements for supporting innovation strategies.