Managing exploration and exploitation to enhance innovation performance: the role of board gender diversity

Purpose Exploration and exploitation pull firms in different directions, creating ongoing tension. This study aims to examine how board gender diversity (BGD) helps manage this tension by shaping top management’s attention along the exploration–exploitation continuum. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the attention-based view (ABV), the authors analyse panel data on 254 China-listed advanced manufacturers (2009–2020). Innovation performance (IP) is measured with patent-based indicators. Relative exploration (RE) operationalises balanced ambidexterity on a single continuum (higher RE = greater emphasis on exploration; lower RE = greater emphasis on exploitation). The authors model the link between a firm’s RE and IP and test how BGD moderates this link. Findings IP exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with RE, indicating an IP-maximising balance between exploration and exploitation. BGD shifts this balance towards exploration, with a stronger rightward shift at critical mass (women ≥ 30% of board seats) than under token representation (≥1 woman director). Originality/value By showing how BGD reallocates strategic attention along the exploration–exploitation continuum, the study extends ABV within a corporate-governance lens. Increasing female board representation thus offers a clear governance mechanism for firms seeking to strengthen long-term innovation through strategic diversity.