In the mood for creativity: Sunshine-induced mood, inventor performance, and firm value

We investigate how firm value may be related to emotional and mental states of innovative workers via the innovation channel. By analyzing a comprehensive inventor-level dataset, we discover that the economic value inventors produce for their firms through their patenting activity is positively associated with their sunshine-induced mood. This augmentation in patent value is not due to a surge in the quantity of patents, but rather to the heightened significance and influence of the created inventions. These inventor-level observations aggregate to the firm level. The observed sunshine-enhanced effect is of a magnitude comparable to other primary behavioral drivers of innovation outcomes, such as CEO overconfidence and CEO thrill-seeking tendencies. Our research underscores the significance of the emotional and psychological states of innovative personnel that has implications for managers and shaerholders.