Global value chain embeddedness, technology spillover and enterprise innovation

Abstract

Innovation is the first driving force for high-quality economic development, and the global value chain (GVC) with intermediate goods as the carrier is an essential channel for international technology spillovers. This paper conducts a comprehensive examination of the impact of GVC embeddedness on enterprise innovation from the perspective of two-way embedding. An empirical test using the UIBE GVC Indicators data, Chinese Industrial Enterprise data, China Customs data, and enterprise patent data shows that GVC embeddedness significantly promotes enterprise innovation. The effect of backward embeddedness is greater than that of forward embeddedness. However, the innovation effect of GVC embeddedness is heterogeneous due to different innovation types, embeddedness depths, ownership, trade patterns, and locations of enterprises. Meanwhile, the technology spillovers are an essential channel for GVC embeddedness to promote enterprise innovation. By uncovering the role mechanism of GVC embeddedness in influencing enterprise innovation from the perspective of technology spillovers, this paper offers a new way of thinking to fully unleash the innovation effect of GVC embeddedness.