The Effect of Boardroom Diversity on Innovation and Strategic Risk-Taking in Nigerian Listed Technology Firms

This study investigates the effect of boardroom diversity on innovation outcomes and strategic risk-taking behaviour in listed technology companies in Nigeria. The Nigerian technology sector, encompassing software development, telecommunications, fintech, and digital services, has emerged as a significant contributor to economic diversification efforts. Board diversity, measured across gender, age, nationality, and professional background dimensions, is theorised to enhance the range of cognitive perspectives available to strategic decision-making processes, facilitating innovation and calibrated risk-taking. Drawing on upper echelons theory, the team diversity-performance literature, and the resource dependence framework, this study examines how diversity indices relate to research and development expenditure intensity, patent activity, and strategic risk metrics among twelve listed technology firms over five years. Panel regression analysis with interaction effects tests the moderating role of board size and CEO tenure on the diversity-innovation relationship. The study addresses a research gap identified by the absence of technology-sector-specific board diversity evidence in the Nigerian governance literature, which has focused predominantly on banking and manufacturing firms. Findings are anticipated to provide actionable guidance for technology firm boards, venture capital governance advisors, and the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency. Keywords: boardroom diversity, innovation, strategic risk-taking, technology firms, corporate governance.