Margherita Caprara

My research focuses on marketing strategy, with an emphasis on innovation, machine learning, and gender dynamics. I have research that draws on various data types, from text to images, leveraging natural language processing and deep learning to explore key marketing insights. 

The Gender-Innovation Paradox: Female Leadership, Parenting, and Female-Focused Innovation

This study examines whether and under what conditions leadership diversity translates into more inclusive innovation outcomes. Using a novel text-based measure of female-focused innovation developed from patent data, we show that greater female influence in the top management team (TMT) is, on average, associated with lower levels of female-focused innovation. However, this relationship is moderated by parenting: it becomes less negative, or even positive, when more TMT members have daughters, and more negative when more have sons.

These findings reveal a gender–innovation paradox: while structural diversity increases representation, it does not automatically redirect innovative effort toward women’s needs. Instead, the translation of diversity into inclusivity depends on personal experiences that make gender concerns more salient.

WORKING PAPERS

• Grossetti F., Cillo P., Caprara M., and Rubera G. “I’m Looking Through You: Automated Brand Audience Analysis with Instagram Images”
• Grossetti F., Cillo P., Caprara M., and Rubera G. “Assessing Entrepreneurial Activity through Deep Learning: A Geographic Analysis Using Instagram Data”