How Does Public Capital Affect Enterprise Technological Innovation Based on Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

Abstract

Public capital is an important force for promoting industrial agglomeration and enterprise technological innovation, and enterprise technological innovation is the core element in promoting green economic growth. To further reveal the influence mechanism of public capital on enterprise technological innovation, based on the data of A-share listed companies in China from 2007 to 2020, this paper uses the nonlinear moderating effect model and the intermediating effect model to verify the nonlinear influence and transmission mechanism of public capital on enterprise technological innovation. This paper discusses the influence and mechanism of public capital on enterprise innovation from the perspective of industrial agglomeration. The study finds that public capital has a significant role in promoting enterprise technological innovation. Moreover, economic public capital plays a greater role in promoting enterprise technological innovation than social public capital. Further analysis shows that the innovation effect of public capital is nonlinearly regulated by industrial agglomeration. In the initial stage of industrial agglomeration, the higher the degree of industrial agglomeration, the weaker the innovation effect of public capital; however, in the advanced stage of industrial agglomeration, the higher the degree of industrial agglomeration, the stronger the innovation effect of public capital. The nonlinear effect is realized by affecting the profits of enterprises. From enterprise heterogeneity, public capital has a significant role in promoting the technological innovation of non-state-owned enterprises but has no significant impact on the technological innovation of state-owned enterprises; public capital has a significant positive effect on the technological innovation of mid- and high-end technology enterprises, while its impact on the technological innovation of low-end technology enterprises is not significant. From the type of innovation output, public capital has a significant role in promoting enterprise green technology innovation, and the role of public capital in promoting enterprise green invention patents is greater than that of green utility model patents. This study provides a theoretical basis for government public capital investment decisions and empirical evidence for the sustainable development of enterprise technological innovation.