Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature on two lines of research, corporate governance and innovation, explaining how different internal corporate governance mechanisms may be determinants of business innovation. Design/methodology/approach: It explores the theoretical background and the empirical evidence regarding the influence of both ownership structure and the board of directors on company innovation. Then, conclusions are drawn and possible future research lines are presented. Findings: No consensus was observed regarding the relation between corporate governance and innovation, with both positive and negative arguments being found, and with empirical evidence not always pointing in the same direction. Thus, new studies trying to clarify this relationship are needed. Originality/value: Over recent years, interest has grown in the influence of governance mechanisms on innovation decisions taken by the management. Innovation efforts and results depend on factors that are influenced by corporate governance, such as ownership structure or the functioning of the board of directors. Thus, the paper shows an updated state of the art in this field proposing future lines for empirical research.

The objective of this investigation was to identify and analyze the individual attributes responsible for creative performance among employees of a Spanish firm. Drawing from the existing literature on intrinsic motivation, expertise, cognitive style, and individual creativity, research was conducted to test a creativity model of employee characteristics in Spain. Results confirmed that innovative style and intrinsic motivation were related to employee creativity, as measured by self-ratings. Moreover, results suggested that the accumulation of individual attributes that were hypothesized to have a positive relationship with creativity had a greater effect in creativity than when considering separately. A cluster analysis was carried out in order to procure a taxonomy of employees depending on their individual characteristics. Three groups were defined. Their behavior differed significantly in terms of their creativity performance. Recommendations for enhancing creativity in work settings are proposed.