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Echoes of the Past: Gender Differences in Perceiving Past Temporal Focus in Innovation Funding

delete2026-04-27
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PRE
AI
L
Lun Li
X
Xi Xi *
易希薇 (Xiwei Yi)
J
Jizhen Li
X
Xue Liu
DOI:10.1017/mor.2025.20delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Evaluators; tasked with making funding decisions under conditions of incomplete information and uncertainty; are particularly susceptible to the influence of temporality and gender expectations. Drawing on the literature on signaling theory and gender expectations; this research examines the importance of past temporal focus in determining innovation funding decisions. Our empirical evidence suggests that innovation projects that focus on past events are more likely to receive favorable evaluations as past temporal focus signals better learning capacity among innovators. Moreover; we build on the signal credibility and visibility literature to support the notion that female-dominated presenting teams that emphasize past actions receive higher evaluations because the learning capacity signal is deemed more credible for women and female evaluators are more reactive to past-related signals; leading to higher evaluations for innovations with a past-focused narrative. Our study contributes to the literature on temporal focus and signal effectiveness and provides implications for mitigating the gender gap in accessing funding through temporal rhetoric.
Keywords:
gender differences
innovation evaluation
past temporal focus
signal credibility
signal visibility
性别差异
创新评价
过去时间焦点
信号可信度
信号可见性

Journal

Management and Organization Review cover
Management and Organization Review
IF:
3
Papers:
108
Citations:
2.2K

Organization

B
Beijing Normal University
Scholars:
3.3W
Papers: 2.7W
Citations: 4.2W
T
tsinghua university
Scholars:
11.5W
Papers: 9.9W
Citations: 137
R
renmin university of china
Scholars:
1.6K
Papers: 872
Citations: 0
P
Peking University
Scholars:
1.0W
Papers: 3.8K
Citations: 14.7W
S
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Scholars:
7.8K
Papers: 2.4K
Citations: 14.8W
Cited Papers

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