The Mediating Role of Responsible Innovation in the Relationship between Stakeholder Pressure and Corporate Sustainability Performance in Times of Crisis: Evidence from Selected Regions in China.

Hong Tian,Jiahui Tian

doi:10.3390/ijerph18147277

Abstract

Responsible innovation, as a new management paradigm that balances the need for profit growth and the appeal of social value, plays an important role in taking into account corporate economic, social and environmental performance. It provides new ideas for driving enterprises to become more risk-resistant and sustainable in times of crisis. However, existing research on responsible innovation has mostly focused on content issues, and there is a lack of sufficient research and empirical studies on its effectiveness in business organizations. Based on the stakeholder theory and the research logic of “pressure–behavior-performance”, this study investigates the formation mechanism of responsible innovation and its impact on corporate performance. Through empirical research on 306 Chinese sample data, the results show that stakeholder pressure has a positive impact on corporate sustainability performance and responsible innovation plays a partially mediating role in this relationship. Flexible routine replication positively moderates the relationship between stakeholder pressure and responsible innovation, while positively moderating the mediating role that responsible innovation plays between stakeholder pressure and corporate sustainability performance. This study contributes to helping enterprises recognize the importance of responsible innovation in responding to stakeholder pressure and promoting corporate sustainability performance in times of crisis.

Highlights

Published: 7 July 2021The spread of COVID-19 has caused dramatic dynamic environmental changes, changeable market demand and systematic economic stagnation, which have brought great challenges to the survival and development of science and technology enterprises
Based on the stakeholder theory, this study presents responsible innovation as a way for enterprises to respond to stakeholder demands and to balance the needs of corporate development with social value expectations to achieve strategic goals for sustainable development
Stakeholder pressure was significantly correlated with responsible innovation (r = 0.593, p < 0.01), stakeholder pressure was significantly correlated with corporate sustainability performance (r = 0.608, p < 0.01) and responsible innovation was significantly correlated with corporate sustainability performance (r = 0.540, p < 0.01)

Summary

Introduction

Published: 7 July 2021The spread of COVID-19 has caused dramatic dynamic environmental changes, changeable market demand and systematic economic stagnation, which have brought great challenges to the survival and development of science and technology enterprises. How to enhance the ability of enterprises to resist risks while maintaining sustainable production and development has become one of the focuses of research. Innovation is an effective way for enterprises to cope with uncertainty, enabling enterprises to remain dynamic and sustainable [1]. The reality is that innovative products such as big data bring huge market space and broad development prospects, and come with a scientific and ethical crisis that challenges the legal and moral bottom line, such as information security and privacy leakage. How to effectively address the reasonable balance between current innovative development and visionary planning, so as to enhance the Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations

Methods

Results

Conclusion