Abstract
Technological innovation and stable customer relationships are both important factors for the sustainable development of enterprises. However, it remains unclear whether there is a relationship between stable customer relationships and technological innovation. In this work, we manually collected data regarding customer relationships and the innovation of manufacturing companies listed in the A-Share index in China from 2009 to 2016. Through empirical analysis, this work used a two-way fixed effect model and intermediary effect model tests to explore the impact of stable customer relationships on technological innovation. The empirical research found the following. (1) Stable customer relationships significantly promote the technological innovation of enterprises, and the empirical results are still valid after a variety of robust tests. The competitive advantage of enterprises forms a part of the intermediary role in the relationship above. (2) Comparing the samples of large-scale enterprises, state-owned enterprises, mature enterprises, and low-capital-intensive enterprises, the research found that stable customer relationships can significantly promote corporate technological innovation in small-scale enterprises, non-state-owned enterprises, young enterprises, and highly capital-intensive enterprises. This article enriches and deepens our understanding of the mechanism by which stable customer relationships affect enterprises’ technological innovation. At the same time, this research is helpful for better evaluating the impact of establishing a stable customer relationship on the sustainable competitive advantage of enterprises.
Highlights
With the gradual rise and promotion of supply chain management, determining whether the supply chain can result in an advantageous position in market competition has become an important indicator for measuring companies
This article found that a stable customer relationship significantly promotes the technological innovation of enterprises, and the competitive advantage of enterprises plays an intermediary role
The coefficient of stability is significantly positive related to innovation; that is, the stability of customer relationship has a positive impact on enterprise technological innovation
Summary
With the gradual rise and promotion of supply chain management, determining whether the supply chain can result in an advantageous position in market competition has become an important indicator for measuring companies. Office of the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Actively Promoting Supply. Supply chain development has been elevated to the status of one of the national strategies. In order to integrate and optimize the supply chain and create a community of interests, stable customer relationships are essential. The Chinese Accounting Standards continue to increase the disclosure of customer information by companies. The Guidelines 2007 require a listed company to disclose “their major customers and introduce the company’s total sales to the top five customers as a percentage of the company’s total sales”.
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