Innovation Efficiency Research Articles

The Impact of Global Value Chain Position on Emerging Industrial Cluster Innovation Efficiency in China

The Impact of Global Value Chain Position on Emerging Industrial Cluster Innovation Efficiency in China

Is “Collaborative Governance” or “Competitive Collusion” the effect of cross-ownership on corporate innovation

PurposeUsing Chinese A-share listed firms between 2007 and 2020 with 21,380 observations, we aim to examine the impact of cross-ownership on firms’ innovation output and explore the underlying mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachTo test the influence of cross-ownership on firms’ innovation output, this paper constructs an ordinary least square regression model. The explained variables are firms’ innovation output, including the total number of patent applications (Apply) and the number of invention patent applications (Apply_I). Considering the long period of patent R&D, we take the value of the explained variables in the following year for regression. Cross-ownership (Cross) is the explanatory variable; Control is the control variable; and ε is the regression residual term.FindingsWe find that cross-ownership significantly promotes corporate innovation output, indicating that cross-owners play an important role in “collaborative governance.” This finding remains unchanged after conducting a series of robustness tests. We also find that cross-ownership contributes to innovation output mainly through two plausible channels: the relaxation of financing constraints and reducing both types of agency costs. Further analysis shows that cross-ownership has a more pronounced influence on innovation output in those firms with higher equity restriction ratios and facing more competitive markets. Moreover, cross-ownership has a profound impact on firms’ innovation quality and innovation efficiency, thereby increasing firm value.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides important policy implications. First, cross-owners should actively play their resource and supervision advantages to improve firms’ long-term development capability through the “collaborative governance” effect. Second, listed companies in China should be fully aware of the value of the cross-ownership and use the cross-ownership as a bridge to strengthen the cooperative relationship with firms in the same portfolio. Meanwhile, they need to pay attention to cross-ownership’s “collaborative governance” effect to provide an impetus for the healthy development of enterprises. Finally, government regulators should maintain appropriate supervision of the cross-ownership linkage in the market.Originality/valueOur findings show that cross-ownership significantly contributes to firms’ innovation output, indicating that cross-owners play the role of “collaborative governance.” While paying attention to the collusion effect of the cross-ownership, they shall not ignore its governance effect, for example, the promotion effect on the innovation level. Government regulators should appropriately supervise the cross-ownership linkage, which is conducive to maintaining the market order and driving the healthy development of the capital market.

The econophysical model of innovation diffusion

Analysis and evaluation of innovation efficiency require the development of tools to model their dissemination process within the industry. This paper presents a model of innovation diffusion based on physical approaches, describing stages of accelerating and decelerating growth. An exponential growth is described using a diffusion model, while a logarithmic one employs an electrical engineering model. The paper presents the correspondence of physical parameters with their economic counterpart: size of a company; characteristic of speed of information exchange between firms; company’s willingness to innovate; inter-firm influence and the breakthrough level of innovation. The theoretical model obtained was tested on historical data of innovation implementation in the fuel and energy complex, followed by adjustments of coefficients depending on the branch of innovation implementation. The developed model is applicable for describing the process of innovation dissemination in any industry in the country, as well as for investment and business planning in companies and decision-making on investments in innovation projects. When applied in industries with low levels of innovation activity, an increase in the level of high-tech production and the share of organizations implementing technological innovations is predicted. Using the example of Russia’s fuel and energy sector, rising in the technological level of enterprises and a decrease in import dependence are forecasted.

Exploring the Relationship Between Innovation Efficiency and Nation Brand Strength: a Panel Study

Exploring the Relationship Between Innovation Efficiency and Nation Brand Strength: a Panel Study

Government Subsidies, Market Competition and Firms' Technological Innovation Efficiency

Based on the classification of Chinese listed companies, this paper selects the financial statement data of Chinese listed companies from 2008 to 2022 to conduct an empirical study, and the empirical results confirm that Government subsidies can promote enterprises to enhance the efficiency of technological innovation; Market competition can encourage enterprises to enhance the efficiency of technological innovation and The impact of government subsidies on the efficiency of technological innovation of non-state enterprises is more significant, while other information remains unchanged. The impact of government subsidies on the technological innovation efficiency of non-state-owned enterprises is more significant. Through empirical research, this paper understands the impact of government subsidies and market competition on the technological innovation efficiency of enterprises, which is conducive to providing a reference for the government to formulate enterprise subsidy policies.

Identifying the characteristics of public-private partnership projects on green energy in developing countries with different incomes

The object of the study is public-private partnership projects in green energy in developing countries. The problematics of the study is based on the intersection of the current problems of improving energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of energy innovations. The problem of analyzing such projects was solved with the following results: The findings of the study indicate the importance of country income as a factor influencing investment in public-private partnership projects in green energy. The analysis indicates the importance of the country's income as a factor influencing the established technological structure of public-private partnership projects in the green energy sector. It is proved that energy efficiency significantly depends on the technological structure of public-private partnership projects in green energy. The obtained results are explained by assuming the dependence of public-private partnership projects in green energy on the income level of the economy, based on Wallis one-way analysis of variance and cross-tabulation. Mann-Whitney U test was used to explain the dependence of energy efficiency on the technological structure of such projects. The particularity of this study is the analysis of the technological structure of public-private partnership projects in green energy, taking into account the specifics of developing countries and the application of their clustering. This research is of practical significance in the possibility of applying the results obtained by the authorities for the creation and implementation of public-private partnership projects in the field of green energy, as well as by energy companies implementing new technologies using water, wind and solar energy.

Research on the contribution of technological innovation efficiency and internal structure optimization of charging pile industry: A case study of China

In the context of resource scarcity and environmental protection, the new energy industry has garnered significant attention from various sectors. The charging pile (CP) industry, a crucial component of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry's supply chain, requires improvements in both quantity and quality. This study examined the technological innovation efficiency (TIE) of the CP industry, considering two levels: pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE), and explored methods to optimize its internal structure. By combining the grey correlation analysis (GCA) method with the generalized data envelopment analysis (GDEA) model, a reliable evaluation indicator system was established. Empirical findings revealed that the PTE of technological innovation in the CP industry exhibited an upward trend from 2019 to 2022, achieving a GDEA-effective state. However, the SE of technological innovation shows a downward trend, indicating non-GDEA effectiveness. The contribution of CP companies to the PTE of technological innovation has shown a persistent and accelerating decline, while their contribution to SE, once negative, gradually shifts toward a positive influence. Consequently, the internal technological innovation structure of the CP industry necessitates optimization and adjustment to attain balance. This study provides recommendations from the perspectives of both the government and companies.

The Impact Analysis of the Digital Economy on Green Total Factor Productivity in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

The deep integration of digitalization and greening is a driving force for promoting high-quality economic development. The rapid development of the digital economy empowers green innovation, and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, as the most developed region in China's economy, carries an important mission for the future economic and social development of China. Clarifying the differences and influencing factors of digital economy and green total factor productivity (GTFP) among different cities within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is of great significance for formulating regional and national green development policies, achieving regional coordinated development, and environmental sustainability. This paper takes the impact of digital economy development on changes in GTFP as the starting point. Through the analysis of innovation efficiency, a theoretical model is established to reveal the internal mechanism by which digital economy development promotes GTFP. The research results show that digital economy development significantly promotes the improvement of GTFP, with greater impacts on large and medium-sized cities, regions with higher productivity levels, and regions with a more advanced industrial structure. Additionally, the internal mechanism test results indicate that digital economy development enhances GTFP by improving regional innovation efficiency and resource allocation efficiency.

Does the Carbon Emission Trading Scheme Truly Enhance Green Innovation Efficiency? From the Perspective of Market Mechanism and Government Intervention

Does the Carbon Emission Trading Scheme Truly Enhance Green Innovation Efficiency? From the Perspective of Market Mechanism and Government Intervention

Explaining the changes in the green technology innovation efficiency of construction enterprises

Based on the objective of global carbon emission reduction, the green technology innovation efficiencies of construction enterprises (GTIE–CE) have attracted attention in various countries and regions worldwide. However, researchers have not yet assessed GTIE–CE from the perspectives of asymmetric innovation theory, resource orchestration theory and eco-innovation theory. To reveal the changes in GTIE–CE, an index system is constructed to measure this efficiency based on resource orchestration theory and eco-innovation theory. In addition, based on the asymmetric innovation theory, this study uses the spatial variance function and PVAR model to reveal the evolution mechanism of GTIE–CE with respect to market, government and technology dimensions. The main conclusions are as follows. (1) Regional heterogeneity is present in GTIE–CE in China, and the appearance of high efficiency spreads from the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta to the surrounding areas. (2) The market dimension positively affects the green technology innovation efficiency of construction enterprises, but this effect is delayed. (3) The government dimension significantly promotes the improvement in GTIE–CE, but this effect is delayed. This study provides an integrated theoretical perspective that reveals the mechanism of GTIE–CE, helps to broaden the research in the field of GTIE–CE, in addition to insights from China to further promote the green transformation of these enterprises.

Dual Social Responsibility: The Pathway Effects and Mechanisms of Benevolent and Malevolent Actions on Firm Performance

ABSTRACTWhile doing good things, enterprises may also be subject to subjective or unintentional behaviors of doing bad things, and corporate performance is comprehensively affected by its dual social responsibility. Using data from A‐share listed companies from 2010 to 2020, this paper, grounded in signaling theory, legitimacy theory, and stakeholder theory, analyzes the dual‐path effects, comprehensive effects, and boundary effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR) on corporate performance. It innovatively introduces innovation efficiency as a mediating variable to examine its transmission mechanism and pathways in the influence of dual social responsibility on corporate performance. The study finds that CSR and CSIR have independent and heterogeneous effects on corporate performance, with the former exhibiting an inverted U‐shaped relationship with corporate performance and the latter consistently exerting a negative impact. The coexistence and interaction of CSR and CSIR have a comprehensive effect on corporate performance, where CSR performance can mitigate the negative impact of CSIR, and there exists a threshold effect. CSR has a nonlinear impact on innovation efficiency, and innovation efficiency plays a significant mediating role in the process of CSR and CSIR affecting corporate performance. The industrial environment competition plays a moderating role in the relationship between a company's dual social behavior and its performance. The higher the industrial environment competition, the more it will accelerate and intensify the negative impact of CSIR on corporate performance. Additionally, it will steepen the inverted U‐shaped curve of CSR influencing corporate performance and shift the inflection point to the left. This study not only extends the boundaries of research on the impact of CSIR on corporate performance but also provides insights for corporate social responsibility governance and ethical decision‐making in business.

An Exploratory Study on Evaluating the efficiency of Strategic Innovation in the Indian EdTech Landscape

India's educational technology (EdTech) sector has emerged as a transformative force, reshaping the traditional educational ecosystem through the integration of digital solutions. This sector's growth has been fuelled by several factors, including increased internet penetration, the affordability of smartphones, and the ever-rising demand for quality education that transcends geographical, socio-economic, and infrastructural limitations. According to a report by RedSeer Consulting, the Indian EdTech industry is poised to grow from $2.8 billion in 2020 to a staggering $10.4 billion by 2025. This trajectory has been further catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced educational institutions to shift to online learning platforms, solidifying EdTech’s role in India's educational future.

Effects of product and process innovation on growth and unemployment

In economic growth theory, product and process innovations are critical factors contributing to technological progress. This study constructs an economic growth model that considers product and process innovations and theoretically investigates how these two types of innovation affect economic growth and unemployment rates. Using our model, based on Zagler (Int Rev Appl Econ 18:209–224, 2004), we obtain the following three main findings: (1) an increase in the efficiency of product innovation increases both the economic growth and unemployment rates; (2) an increase in the efficiency of process innovation increases the economic growth rate but does not affect the unemployment rate; and (3) a decrease in labor allocation to product innovation and an increase in labor allocation to process innovation in the R & D sector increase the economic growth rate and decrease the unemployment rate depending on the conditions. These findings suggest that to simultaneously raise employment and increase economic growth, we need not only a policy for fostering product innovation but also another policy to improve employment.

The impact of digital industrialization and industrial digitalization on regional green innovation efficiency in China -From the perspective of the innovation value chain

To systematically detect the influence of digital economy on regional green innovation, this study regards regional green innovation as a two-stage sequential process, and constructs a network SBM model to evaluate the overall and stage green innovation efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020. Digital economy development is decomposed into digital industrialization and industrial digitalization, and an empirical study based on fixed effects regression model of panel data is conducted to determine their influence on the overall and stage green innovation efficiency. The results suggest the following: (1) The overall efficiency in China remained at a low level, with the efficiency of research and development being slightly higher than that of achievement transformation. (2) From the national perspective, there is no discernible effect of digital industrialization on overall efficiency, but there is a negative impact on research and development and a significant positive impact on achievement transformation. Industrial digitalization significantly improves achievement transformation and overall efficiency but has no discernible effect on the research and development stage. (3) In the eastern region, industrial digitalization promotes the improvement of both stages and overall efficiency, while digital industrialization does not have a significant impact. In the central region, digital industrialization and industrial digitalization have significant positive impacts on both overall efficiency and the efficiency of achievement transformation but have no impact on research and development. In the western region, digital industrialization inhibits the overall and achievement transformation efficiency, and industrial digitalization does not have significant impact on the overall efficiency or the efficiency of each stage. Finally, some relevant policy recommendations are proposed.

Evaluation and Influencing Factors of Regional Green Innovation Efficiency Based on the Lasso Method

Regional green innovation efficiency is affected by multiple factors. Based on the undesirable output of 11 provinces in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2012–2021, this paper uses the Super-SBM model containing undesirable outputs to measure and analyze the regional green innovation efficiency and tests the variables affecting regional green innovation efficiency through lasso regression. Stepwise regression and least squares estimation are used to prove the rationality of the lasso regression model. The results show that the regional green innovation efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Belt during 2012–2021 among different regions has differences that manifest as the efficiency of the lower, middle, and upper reaches decreases successively, and the differences decrease gradually over time. All the variables affecting the regional green innovation efficiency pass the lasso regression variable screening test, and most of the influencing factors positively promote the regional green innovation efficiency and are more explanatory than the stepwise regression and the least squares proof model.

Cross-ownership and Corporate Innovation

This article takes Chinese A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2022 as the research sample, and uses a multiple regression model to empirically test the relationship between cross-ownership and corporate innovation efficiency. Research has found that: (1) cross-ownership can improve the innovation efficiency of enterprises. (2) when the internal control quality of the enterprise is high and the legal system environment is good, the promoting effect of Cross-ownership on the innovation efficiency of the enterprise is more significant.

Research on High-quality development of enterprises based on an intelligent background

In the global economy, intelligent technology has attracted much attention as a crucial factor in propelling enterprises towards achieving high-quality development growth. Taking the financial reports of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock exchanges published from 2007 to 2022 as samples, this study explores the influence and mechanism of intelligent technology on the high-quality development of enterprises. The study finds that intelligent technology has a substantial positive impact on enhancing the high-quality growth of businesses, especially by improving innovation efficiency and management efficiency. In addition, digital inclusive finance and the digital economy have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between intelligent technology and the high-quality development of enterprises. These results offer practical backing for the advancement of corporate intelligence and establish a vital theoretical and empirical foundation for companies to uphold their competitive edge in an intensely competitive market landscape.

How does vertical fiscal imbalance affect corporate green innovation? Empirical evidence from China

The vertical fiscal imbalance of local governments under the Chinese-style decentralization system affects enterprise decision-making in their jurisdiction. Using the data of A-share listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen, this paper finds that vertical fiscal imbalance can promote enterprises' green innovation. The analysis of the mechanism of action reveals that the vertical fiscal imbalance positively impacts enterprises' green innovation through tax reduction and government R&D subsidies. In contrast, vertical fiscal imbalance's loss of human capital is a negative channel affecting green innovation of enterprises. Further analysis reveals that the vertical fiscal imbalance has a threshold effect on green innovation; the political and environmental backgrounds of senior executives can significantly strengthen the vertical fiscal imbalance's promoting effect on green innovation activities; in addition, the vertical fiscal imbalance can improve the efficiency and quality of green innovation by enterprises. The research findings are significant for further deepening the fiscal reform and encouraging enterprises to achieve green, high-quality enterprise development.

Female Directors and Technological Innovation: Evidence from China

Research on strategic leadership's role in achieving superior performance in technological innovation is still evolving, particularly regarding the effects of female directors and the contextual factors that enhance their effectiveness. This study provides a comprehensive view of female directors’ influence on R&D initiatives, innovation outputs, and innovation efficiency. Using Upper Echelons Theory and Agency Theory as the theoretical framework, the study employs fixed-effect regression for baseline outcomes, addressing endogeneity with prediction modeling, propensity score matching, and an instrumental variable approach on panel data from Chinese listed firms (2008–2021). Findings indicate that female directors not only enhance R&D investment but their presence on the board achieves higher innovation outcomes and ensures innovation efficiency. Findings also reveal that the interaction with CEOs is crucial, as newly appointed CEOs moderate the advisory role of female directors, while CEO power influences their monitoring role. The study also shows that female directors are more effective when they constitute a critical mass on the board rather than merely having token representation. These findings suggest that including women on the board is essential for superior innovation outcomes, especially when resource efficiency is a firm's priority.

New measurement and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of regional green innovation efficiency in China

New measurement and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of regional green innovation efficiency in China