We examine the impact of board members’ expertise, chief financial officer (CFO) board membership, and audit committee characteristics on the level of research and development (R&D) expenditure. Using a sample of listed companies from 16 European countries over the period from 2014 to 2020, multivariate regression models and controls for endogeneity, our results show that firms with a CFO who serves as a board member reduce R&D expenditures, while enhanced board expertise has the opposite effect. We also find that audit committee financial expertise is positively associated with the level of R&D spending, while the independence of audit committee members reduces the propensity of firms to exhibit R&D expenditures. These results contribute to the academic and policy debate by offering novel insights into which combinations of corporate governance characteristics are more likely to affect variations in the level of R&D expenditure among firms.

We examine the impact of board members’ expertise, chief financial officer (CFO) board membership, and audit committee characteristics on the level of research and development (R&D) expenditure. Using a sample of listed companies from 16 European countries over the period from 2014 to 2020, multivariate regression models and controls for endogeneity, our results show that firms with a CFO who serves as a board member reduce R&D expenditures, while enhanced board expertise has the opposite effect. We also find that audit committee financial expertise is positively associated with the level of R&D spending, while the independence of audit committee members reduces the propensity of firms to exhibit R&D expenditures. These results contribute to the academic and policy debate by offering novel insights into which combinations of corporate governance characteristics are more likely to affect variations in the level of R&D expenditure among firms.