High-tech Firms Research Articles

The power dynamics unveiled: who pulls the strings in high-tech B2B decision-making?

ABSTRACT This study examines the power dynamics and their impact on involvement levels and compromise complexities in B2B joint decision-making within Dutch high-tech firms. Using a five-phase framework, it investigates the asymmetrical participation of co-owning decision-makers in dyadic buyer-supplier relationships and presents a conceptual model to explain how different power sources influence business interactions. A qualitative multiple case study involving Dutch high-tech firms was conducted. The research reveals that power bases significantly determine both involvement levels and the complexities of compromises, showing a positive correlation between involvement and compromise complexity. This study provides guidance for B2B stakeholders, offering diagnostic tools for understanding power structures and strategies to enhance collaborative decision-making. Additionally, the paper recommends governance frameworks and role delineations to improve participation levels, especially for companies with less power. This scholarly work enriches the literature by clarifying the relationship between power bases, involvement levels, and compromise complexities, and extends the application of social power theory to high-tech B2B contexts.

R&D investment, IPO underpricing, investor sentiment and long-term performance: A study on the Chinese star market

This study examines the factors influencing sustained post-IPO performance in China’s STAR Market, emphasizing the combined effects of R&D expenditure, IPO underpricing, and investor sentiment on long-term outcomes in this innovation-driven exchange. Using event study analysis and multiple regression, the research evaluates 342 companies listed between July 2019 and December 2021. Long-term performance is measured via one-year cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) and buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHAR). R&D expenditure significantly enhances long-term performance for non-high-tech firms by signaling growth potential in environments with limited information. High-tech firms, however, show minimal incremental gains, as market expectations pre-price their innovative status. IPO underpricing consistently correlates negatively with long-term performance across sectors, indicating agency costs or adverse signaling. Investor sentiment, proxied by initial trading turnover, exerts negligible lasting impact, revealing a disconnect between speculative activity and sustained valuation. Sector-specific R&D signaling and IPO underpricing risks drive long-term outcomes. Market expectations dominate pre-IPO valuations for high-tech firms, while short-term speculation fails to predict enduring performance. Firms should align R&D strategies with sector-specific valuation drivers. Investors must prioritize fundamentals over transient hype. Policymakers can enhance market efficiency by fostering transparency and incentivizing innovation, particularly in non-high-tech sectors, to support sustainable growth in emerging markets.

Exploration or exploitation? A comparative analysis of organizational slack and technological environmental dynamism in external knowledge searches

Purpose Since the knowledge search process centers on managing distinctive and valuable resources while leveraging a particular technological context, the influences of organizational slack and environmental dynamism on exploration and exploitation have been extensively studied. However, empirical evidence on organizational slack and environmental dynamism has largely developed separately, and little is known about their relative importance and the joint impact on knowledge search. This study aims to compare the different impacts of organizational slack, technological environmental dynamism, and their combined effects on exploratory and exploitative knowledge search, thereby deepening the understanding of related knowledge. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on survey data from 243 high-tech firms, this study applies multiple hierarchical regression analyses to contrast the relative impacts of organizational slack and the frequency and unpredictability of technological changes in the environment on exploratory and exploitative knowledge searches. It also compares the interactive effects of organizational slack and technological environmental dynamism on these knowledge search processes. Findings The empirical analysis demonstrates that technological environmental dynamism exercises more influence on exploratory knowledge search relative to organizational slack. The study also finds that exploratory knowledge search is facilitated more by the interplay of slack resources and technological environmental dynamism than exploitative knowledge search. Originality/value Hence, they provide a clear explanation regarding how to craft a firm’s strategic choice between exploratory and exploitative knowledge search in different configurations of organizational slack and technological environmental dynamism.

Implementation Of Dual-Use Technologies in Defense and Public Security

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms for introducing dual-use technologies into defense and public-security frameworks. The topic’s relevance stems from rapid advances in technical solutions that blur the traditional lines between civilian and military applications—creating new opportunities to boost efficiency across multiple sectors, while simultaneously posing significant risks of international destabilization and threats to national integrity. The study aims to survey contemporary models for integrating dual-use technologies, to identify regulatory, economic, and ethical constraints, and to pinpoint the most promising practices for strengthening defense capabilities and enhancing public protection in a holistic manner. Emphasis is placed on technological domains such as artificial intelligence, biological systems, cybersecurity, and autonomous unmanned platforms. Drawing on current research, the paper demonstrates how adaptive management strategies for dual-use technologies can deliver flexible responses to rapidly evolving challenges. Special attention is given to the need for robust interagency and transnational coalitions, as well as the creation of legal frameworks that simultaneously foster innovation. The findings will benefit defense-policy and security-management professionals, technology-transfer experts, and representatives of governmental bodies and high-tech firms seeking balanced solutions in an era of technological turbulence.

INVESTMENT ANALYSIS OF YANDEX: A CASE OF STUDY FOR 2022-2024

Introduction: This study analyzes the investment attractiveness of Yandex, Russia’s leading technology company, during 2022–2024, focusing on its performance amid a dynamic and volatile global economic environment. Methods: The research employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative analysis of financial indicators such as revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA, and net income, with qualitative evaluation of Yandex’s strategic business segments. Data were collected from official company reports and reputable international sources. Results: Findings reveal that Yandex achieved record revenues in 2024, driven by innovations in advertising technology and expansion of its digital ecosystem. Despite challenges including segment losses and dependence on the Russian domestic market, the company’s diversification, strong market share, and continuous innovation have enhanced its resilience and long-term growth prospects. Conclusion: The study concludes that Yandex is well-positioned for sustained value creation, leveraging strategic initiatives in artificial intelligence and international expansion to maintain competitive advantage in an uncertain geopolitical climate. These insights offer valuable guidance for investors and stakeholders interested in high-tech firms operating in complex environments Keyword: Investment analysis; Yandex; Financial performance; Digital transformation; International sources;

Labour for Clean Groundwater: Silicon Valley’s Unionists and Underground Storage Tank Legislation in the 1980s

Relying on interviews and the records of California lawmakers and activist groups, this article argues that Silicon Valley’s unionists were critical for the passing of legislation protecting groundwater in the United States in the first half of the 1980s. When it was discovered in 1982 that solvents used in the manufacture of microchips had leaked into the region’s water table, union leaders and environmental activists built a large social movement to drive the enactment of a strict county-wide ordinance on underground tanks storing liquid waste. Despite considerable lobbying from high-tech firms and oil companies, in 1983 city councils and the county’s board of supervisors instituted new rules requiring corporations to double-contain their waste and monitor it electronically. Union leaders then pushed successfully for similar legislation at the state level. The fight was finally brought to the national scale by a Democratic congressman friendly to labour. He inserted California’s statute into a bill renewing and expanding the Superfunds program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Although the bill died in the U.S. Senate, it built momentum for the passage of federal legislation on groundwater protection in 1984.

Geographical Accessibility and Corporate Technological Innovation—Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment

Geographic accessibility is an important determinant of the quality of interactions between firms and stakeholders and has a significant impact on the technological innovation of enterprises. By using a quasi-natural experiment implemented with China’s high-speed rail service and designing a high-speed rail network centrality indicator using social network analysis, we examine the impact of geographic accessibility on corporate technological innovation. The results show that geographic accessibility significantly promotes the technological innovation of enterprises, especially for enterprise exploratory innovation. Mechanism analysis indicates that geographic accessibility promotes enterprise technological innovation by reducing financing constraints and increasing technicians’ mobility. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that the prompting effect is more obvious in high-tech firms and firms in less-developed regions. This study enriches the research on geographic accessibility and corporate technological innovation, and has significant implications for enhancing the core competitiveness and sustainable development of enterprises.

The impact of the recognition of high-tech enterprise on R&D disclosure

The Administration of Recognition of High-tech Enterprises, a monitoring program for high-tech entrepreneurs, administers China’s most critical policy for reducing taxes to incentivize research and development (R&D), which also impacts disclosure. This study examines how this recognition has influenced high-tech enterprise R&D disclosure. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) design, the study found that authentic high-tech firms disclose more detailed R&D information. In contrast, pseudo-high-tech firms inflate their R&D investments by manipulating accounting items and business activities to qualify for recognition and its associated preferential policies, resulting in vague and less frequent R&D disclosures. Additional tests showed that the positive impact of recognition on R&D disclosure is more significant for authentic high-tech firms when information demand is higher. However, pseudo-high-tech firms disclosed much lower-quality R&D information, especially when their managers prioritized rent extraction. This documented effect of high-tech enterprise recognition provides empirical evidence to reveal the dynamics of the high-tech disclosure dispute on industrial policy, while also offering theoretical and practical implications for business and public policy.

How do Chinese high-tech firms respond to the techno-geopolitics age? From knowledge seeking to knowledge creation

How do Chinese high-tech firms respond to the techno-geopolitics age? From knowledge seeking to knowledge creation

Degree of technological relatedness, firm heterogeneity, and survival condition: Evidence from emerging high-tech firms in the Pearl River Delta, China

Degree of technological relatedness, firm heterogeneity, and survival condition: Evidence from emerging high-tech firms in the Pearl River Delta, China

Digital Transformation and Corporate Carbon Emissions: Evidence from China’s Listed Companies

Digital transformation is a crucial engine empowering enterprises for green, low-carbon development and a key pathway towards achieving China’s dual carbon goals. To investigate the carbon-emission reduction effects and mechanisms of corporate digital transformation, the panel data of China’s A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2021 were utilized to empirically examine the impact and mechanisms of digital transformation on corporate carbon emissions in this study, based on the dynamic capability and resource-based theory. The results show that the following: (1) Digital transformation demonstrates significant potential in reducing corporate carbon emissions; (2) The emission reduction effects are primarily achieved through the three key mechanisms of enhancing green innovation capabilities, alleviating financing constraints, and optimizing human capital structures; (3) The effect of digital transformation on carbon emission reductions demonstrates significant heterogeneity across enterprise characteristics and geographical locations, with particularly notable impacts observed in high-tech firms, state-owned enterprises, carbon-intensive industries, and companies located in eastern China. Therefore, we should vigorously promote the process of digital transformation of enterprises and implement targeted policy measures to support corporate green innovation, enhance financing accessibility, and optimize human capital structure. Simultaneously, we should develop differentiated emission reduction mechanisms that account for enterprise-specific characteristics, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of digital transformation in achieving dual-carbon objectives.

Strategic Temporal Transitions: Performance Implications of Exploration and Exploitation Transition

Prior research presents mixed findings on the impact of temporal shifting between exploration and exploitation on organizational performance. Our study seeks to further clarify these effects and explore the moderating role of environmental scarcity. By analyzing 1,247 firm-year observations from publicly traded U.S. high-tech firms (2009–2014), we find that temporal transitioning from exploitation to exploration negatively affects firm performance, whereas time shifting from exploration to exploitation has a positive impact. Moreover, environmental scarcity intensifies the negative performance consequences of moving from exploitation to exploration. Our findings contribute to the literature on organizational ambidexterity and learning.

The impact of firm-level effective value-added tax rebate on firm productivity: a comparative analysis across trade types

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes how China’s export tax policies – VAT rebate, VAT exemption, and special export tax – affect firm productivity. Using a modified Melitz (2003) model, we demonstrate that tax rebates reduce productivity by lowering export entry barriers, increasing participation, and decreasing average total factor productivity (TFP). Leveraging data from Chinese manufacturing firms and Customs trade records (1999–2006), we construct a firm-level effective VAT-rebate rate as the weighted average of applicable rates for multi-product firms. A 10% increase in VAT-rebate or VAT-exemption rates correlates with a 1% or 3% productivity drop, respectively. Further, large firms, state-owned enterprises, and high-tech firms face stronger impacts, highlighting the complex implications of tax rebates across enterprise types.

Environmental tax law and greenwashing: the moderating role of digitization

Greenwashing, as a deceptive market behavior, not only undermines market order and credibility but also damage the environment. How to curb greenwashing is a critical issue for China as it enters an economic transition period and strives for sustainable development. In 2018, China implemented the Environmental Tax Law, imposing pollution fees on polluting enterprises for the first time in the form of mandatory taxation. Whether this measure can enhance real environmental benefits and curb greenwashing behaviors of companies is worth exploring. This paper utilizes panel data from listed companies from 2015 to 2021 and employs a Difference-in-Differences model to investigate the impact of the environmental tax law on greenwashing. Empirical results demonstrate that environmental tax law can effectively suppress greenwashing among heavily polluting enterprises. The Double Machine Learning model similarly validates this outcome. To explore the influence of mechanisms, we analyze the moderating effects of multidimensional (company, society, and government) digitization and confirm the dominant moderating role of government digitization. Furthermore, heavily polluting enterprises, particularly those in regions with higher tax rates, those required to disclose information, and high-tech firms, are more susceptible to the influence of environmental tax law in adopting real green production practices. This study confirms the positive role of environmental tax law and introduces the comprehensive digitalization moderation mechanism for the first time, providing important insights for China’s green transition and regional environmental governance.

The effect of basic psychological needs on employees’ behavioral intention to protect industrial technology in high-tech firms

As high-tech companies become increasingly important globally, these companies dedicate greater resources to robust technology security and leakage-prevention measures. This study aims to define the factors influencing autonomy, competence, and relatedness which are the basic psychological needs that influence the information leakage-prevention behaviors of employees in high-tech industry enterprises based on self-determination theory (SDT). Additionally, this empirical study investigates the influence of these factors on the behavioral intentions related to industrial technology leakage prevention. It analyzes the relationship between basic psychological needs and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation based on SDT. Moreover, it verifies the mediating effect of motivation on the relationship between basic psychological needs and behavioral intentions. An online survey was conducted among employees of high-tech industries in Korea resulting in the collection of 200 questionnaires. The analysis demonstrated that autonomy, competence and relatedness had a significant positive effect on intrinsic motivation. It means that intrinsic motivation plays a more critical role than extrinsic motivation in shaping the behavioral intention of high-tech firms to prevent industrial-technology leakage. However, no effect was observed for relatedness on extrinsic motivation or for extrinsic motivation on behavioral intentions. The findings indicate that autonomy negatively impacted extrinsic motivation. This suggests that in the high-tech technology sector, employees’ intrinsic motivation primarily drives their technology security behaviors based on personal professional judgment and ethics rather than extrinsic motivation.

Responsible Digital Innovation and Innovation Performance in Ghana’s High-Tech Industry: The Mediating Roles of Digital Organizational Culture and Strategy, and the Moderating Role of Digital Literacy

This study examines the impact of responsible digital innovation on innovation performance, with a focus on the mediating roles of digital organizational culture and digital strategy and the moderating role of digital literacy in Ghana's technology sector. Data were collected from 613 employees, managers, and digital leaders across high-tech firms using a time-lagged survey design. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the relationships among the variables. The findings revealed that responsible digital innovation boosts innovation performance by promoting a collaborative and adaptable digital organizational culture and strengthening digital strategy through ethical alignment. The results indicated that digital organizational culture mediates the relationship between responsible digital innovation and innovation performance, highlighting its role in converting ethical principles into tangible innovation outcomes. Similarly, digital strategy mediates the relationship between responsible digital innovation and innovation performance, highlighting its importance in aligning digital activities with organizational goals. However, digital literacy did not moderate the relationship between digital strategy and innovation performance, indicating that strategy implementation outweighs literacy levels in driving innovation outcomes. These results provide theoretical insights into the mechanisms linking responsible digital innovation to innovation performance, emphasizing the importance of integrating ethical innovation practices into organizational culture and strategy. Practically, the study suggests that firms should prioritize fostering a collaborative digital culture and aligning their strategic objectives with responsible digital innovation principles to drive innovation. This study contributes to the understanding of how responsible innovation can drive sustainable technological advancements in resource-constrained contexts.

Does labor quality influence firm's digital transformation: Evidence from China

With the rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data, digital transformation has become a critical pathway for achieving high-quality development. Using data from A-share listed companies between 2007 and 2021, this study examines the theoretical mechanisms through which labor quality influences digital transformation. The findings show that enhancing labor quality can effectively promote digital transformation. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that this positive effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned and high-tech firms. The findings provide valuable empirical evidence for assessing the empowering effects of labor quality improvement and offer policy insights.

Digital Product Imports and Green Transformation of Enterprises: Evidence from China

In the context of the digital economy, the import of digital products has become a critical factor driving enterprises toward green transformation. This study empirically investigates how importing digital products affects the green transformation of enterprises, drawing on data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2000 and 2016, and analyzes the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. The findings demonstrate that importing digital products significantly promotes green transformation among enterprises, a conclusion supported by various robustness tests. The primary mechanisms identified include fostering technological progress, enhancing market competition, and easing financing constraints faced by businesses. Further analysis highlights differences across firms, revealing that state-owned enterprises, high-tech firms, and larger corporations benefit more distinctly from digital product imports. This research provides both theoretical and empirical insights into how digital product imports can accelerate green transformation, ultimately supporting enterprises in achieving high-quality, sustainable development.

Ambidextrous Alliances, Complementary Assets, and Firms’ Breakthrough Innovations: Evidence from High-Tech Firms in China

Breakthrough innovations present both opportunities and challenges for firms navigating unpredictable technological and market dynamics, which is significant to firms’ sustainable development. However, the impact of strategic alliances on breakthrough innovations remains contested, and the underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully clarified. Drawing on ambidexterity theory and profiting from innovation (PFI) theory, this study investigates the relationships among ambidextrous (exploratory vs. exploitative) alliances, complementary assets, and firms’ breakthrough innovations. By analyzing 279 questionnaire responses from Chinese firms, we demonstrate that both exploratory and exploitative alliances, alongside complementary assets, significantly enhance breakthrough innovations. Furthermore, complementary assets play a complete mediating role between exploratory alliances and breakthrough market innovations. In addition, complementary assets also play a partial mediating role between exploratory alliances and breakthrough technological innovations, as well as between exploitative alliances and both breakthrough technological and market innovations. These findings advance ambidextrous theory by delineating the ambidextrous roles of alliances, extend PFI theory through the integration of the mediating roles of complementary assets, and offer actionable insights for managers seeking to leverage ambidextrous alliances for breakthrough innovation success.

Can digital government promote innovation in private enterprises? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study applies a difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the impact of digital government on private enterprise innovation in China from 2012 to 2021. Our findings indicate that digital government fosters innovation in private enterprises, with a stronger effect observed in high-tech firms, smaller enterprises, and those with fewer political connections. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital government enhances government support and reduces financing costs for private enterprises, thereby driving innovation.