The Impact of Digital Technology Innovation Network Embedding on Firms’ Innovation Performance: The Role of Knowledge Acquisition and Digital Transformation

Abstract

In the digital economy context, enterprises’ competitive environment is changing rapidly. Historically, enterprises rely on a solitary fight to occupy the market. Now, enterprises should actively embed into digital technology innovation networks to maximize access to external digital technology knowledge resources through organizational cooperation and achieve the absorption of digital resources and technologies. However, the relationship between digital technology innovation network embedding and innovation performance still needs to be clarified. Therefore, this study adopts the “structure–behavior–performance” research paradigm to extend innovation network research to the digital technology innovation network context, aiming to explore the impact of digital technology innovation network embedding on enterprise innovation performance and to analyze the mediating effect of knowledge acquisition and the moderating effect of digital transformation. This study conducts an empirical study based on Chinese A-share listed firms that undertook digital technology innovation from 2010–2021. The findings show that digital technology innovation networks’ relational and structural embedding positively affects firm innovation performance. Knowledge acquisition mediates digital technology innovation network embedding and innovation performance. Digital transformation has a moderating role between digital technology innovation network embedding and innovation performance, and different levels of digital transformation will have different effects on firms’ innovation performance. Overall, the relational and structural embedding of digital technology innovation networks can encourage enterprises to acquire more social capital and tacit knowledge and reduce R&D costs, thus improving their innovation performance. Firms should focus on building external cooperation networks, actively establishing an excellent corporate image, strengthening communication and cooperation with network members, establishing mutually beneficial cooperation beliefs, and promoting digital transformation. The present results will help companies understand the impact of digital technology innovation networks and provide a reference for companies to utilize in digital transformation to improve their innovation performance.