Evaluation of Product Innovation Practice of Chinese Internet Companies Based on DANP Model

Abstract

Purpose. Internet companies have played an important supporting role in China’s economic growth and social resource allocation in the advent of an exogenous shock: the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This is owing to their digital, networked, and platform-based characteristics amidst an environment of intensified competition and stagnation of innovation activities due to the pandemic shock. Thus, based on the social network theory and resource-based theory, this study combines the DANP model with corporate innovation to build a product innovation performance evaluation framework for Chinese Internet companies. From a value network perspective, this study considers the different performance aspects of network embeddedness, knowledge management, environmental triggering, and organizational effectiveness. Methodology. The performance of Internet enterprise product innovation may be considered a complex multicriteria decision-making problem. This study used the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory-based analytic network algorithms to analyze the complex influencing relationship among the factors and calculate their weights. Preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation was used for selecting the final solution of multiobjective optimization. Three representative and influential Internet companies in China were selected for empirical analysis and practical evaluation, to find the gap between product innovation performance and expectations and present development suggestions. Findings. The study results reveal that relational embeddedness, knowledge sharing degree, cognitive embeddedness, structural embeddedness, knowledge absorptive capacity, and corporate strategic orientation are important to Chinese Internet enterprise product innovation performance. Practical Implications. This Internet enterprise product innovation performance evaluation framework can be used by Internet business operators to assess product innovation performance and identify areas of improvement. This study provides new product innovation ideas for Chinese Internet companies during an epidemic situation. Originality/Value. This study contributes to the present body of knowledge by using the DANP model to conduct empirical analysis, considering value network-related performance aspects to evaluate the product innovation performance of Internet enterprise in China.