Innovation In Chinese Firms Research Articles

Partial privatisation and green innovation in China: The role of industrial context and regional development

AbstractThis study examines the relationship between partial privatisation (i.e., state ownership reduction) and green innovation in China. Employing a large dataset of 36,072 firm‐year observations between 2005 and 2022, we document a positively significant association between partial privatisation and green innovation, suggesting that privatisation promotes green innovation in Chinese firms. Further analyses shows that the relationship is stronger for firms in environmentally sensitive industries and those located in more developed regions. Our main finding is robust to the alternative measurement of variables and endogeneity concerns using the propensity score matching (PSM), firm‐fixed effects and the system generalised method of moments (GMM) approach. Finally, we document that green innovation in privatised firms yields superior performance. Our findings highlight the significant contribution of privatisation in the quest for low‐carbon emissions in China by promoting green innovation.

Unveiling the Nexus: Influence of learning motivation on organizational performance and innovative climate of Chinese firms.

This study delves into the interplay between learning motivation, organizational performance, and the innovative climate within Chinese firms. It is a subject of frequent discussion in literature but there is little concrete evidence supporting this viewpoint within the context of small and medium size enterprises in China. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature and empirical data gathered, this research aims to uncover the connections between employee learning motivation and its impact on the organizational dynamics in the context of Chinese firms. A cross sectional survey is used to collect the data of 115 Chinese firms and structural equation modelling (SEM) is used for empirical analysis. The results show that success of firms in terms of innovation is significantly influenced by organizational learning motivation. Moreover, innovative environment of the firms increases the overall performance of the organizations. It is also found that factors affecting the innovations have a significant impact on organizational performance. The findings of the study suggest that firms should develop organizational learning motivation to boost their innovation capability and overall performance. This study offers insights and recommendations for organizations and policymakers seeking to harness the potential of learning motivation to drive sustainable growth, competitiveness, and innovation in Chinese firms.

Bank market structure and firm innovation-evidence from China.

This study explores the impact of bank market structure on firm innovation in China using a two-way fixed effects model. Our analysis is based on a dataset comprising 2,412,316 firm-city level observations. Our findings suggest that there exists a U-shaped relationship between bank market structure and firm innovation in China. Specifically, we identify that the financing channel is a crucial pathway through which bank market structure influences firm innovation. Moreover, our results indicate that this relationship is mainly driven by small firms and innovative firms, and is more pronounced in regions with stronger intellectual property rights protection or greater openness to foreign markets. In sum, this study contributes to the existing literature by advancing our understanding of the impact of bank market structure on innovation in Chinese firms.

Female board representation and innovation in Chinese firms: moderating effects of firm’s size, age, and financial constraints

ABSTRACT Although much has been written about it, innovation in China remains a conundrum. In particular, the existing literature provides limited understanding of the underlying, internal dynamics behind Chinese companies’ innovations. To this end, this article investigates the role of female board representation – a factor increasingly viewed as important for various organisational outcomes. In addition, we explore several organisational variables through which female board representation may impact corporate innovation. We use data from listed companies in the Chinese stock market from 2003 to 2017. Our analyses show that female board representation overall has a negative effect on innovation in Chinese firms. However, upon deeper examination, much more intricate relationships emerge. Female board representation tends to promote innovation in smaller, younger, or less financially constrained firms. In contrast, it tends to be detrimental to firms’ innovation when they are large, old, or financially constrained. Findings point to an urgent need for paying more attention to critical moderators that have often been overlooked in existing research on board gender diversity. Findings also imply that how board gender diversity manifests in corporate settings can vary in different countries.

External Knowledge Acquisition and Green Innovation in Chinese Firms: Unveiling the Impact of Green Dynamic Capabilities

Within the context of low-carbon development and drawing on the resource-based and dynamic capability theories, this paper provides a conceptual model of the relationship between external knowledge acquisition, green dynamic capability and corporate green innovation. Then, using 416 samples of firms in China collected from January 2018 to September 2018, the model was tested using the hierarchical regression analyses. The empirical results show that external technical knowledge acquisition and market knowledge acquisition have a positive influence on corporate green innovation. Additionally, the results show that green integration capability and green dynamic configuration capability positively moderate the relationship between technical knowledge acquisition and green innovation. The results also show that green learning capability, green integration capability and green dynamic configuration capability positively moderate the relationship between market knowledge acquisition and green innovation. This study supports the resource-based view, enriches the application of external knowledge acquisition in sustainable development, and extends the theory of green dynamic capability from causal prediction to situational factors. This paper provides theoretical support and practical guidance for firms seeking to effectively conduct open innovation, implement green innovation, and realize low-carbon development.

The influence of government affiliations on firm product innovation in a dynamic institutional environment: insights from China

PurposeBuilding on resource dependence theory and the dynamic institution-based view, this paper examines the influence of government affiliations on firm product innovation in a dynamic institutional environment.Design/methodology/approachUsing unique panel data of Chinese manufacturing firms covering a period of 12 years (1998–2009) with 2,564,547 firm-year observations, this study chooses the panel Tobit model with random effects to explore the influence of government affiliations on firm product innovation, followed by an analysis to test the moderation effects of dynamic institutional environments.FindingsThe study findings suggest that Chinese firms with higher-level government affiliations have a relatively high product innovation performance. It finds that this innovation stimulating effect is contingent on the dynamic nature of the institutional environment. To be specific, a high speed of institutional transition may depress the positive innovation effects of government affiliations, while a more synchronized transition speed of institutional components may enhance the positive innovation effects of firms' government affiliations.Originality/valueThis study adds to a better understanding of the drivers of product innovation in Chinese firms that are situated in environments that are characterized by institutional change, using and contributing to resource dependence theory and the dynamic institution-based view.

Entertainment Spending and Capturing Value from Innovation in Chinese Firms

ABSTRACTThis study examines how Chinese firms capture value from their innovations. We propose that relationship-building through business entertainment may be helpful. In particular, wining and dining key stakeholders, including clients, suppliers, distributors, and government officials, can help firms gain access to complementary resources necessary for commercializing their innovations, facilitating capturing value from innovations. However, business entertainment is less effective in regions with relatively developed market-supporting institutions, including factor markets and legal institutions. The analysis results of archival data and data from a World Bank survey of Chinese firms support all the above arguments.

Effects of Pandemics on Corporate Innovation: Evidence From the Chinese Firms.

This paper examines the effects of the pandemics-related uncertainty on corporate innovation in Chinese firms. For this purpose, the recent uncertainty measure of pandemics, the Pandemics Discussion Index (PDI), is used. The findings from the fixed-effects estimations show the negative impact of the PDI on corporate innovation. Government subsidies, operation profits, and total exports also positively affect corporate innovation. In addition, firms' management efficiency promotes corporate innovation. These results hold when the Blundell-Bond estimations are utilized to address potential endogeneity. Various robustness analyses, such as considering the lagged PDI and the lagged controls, are also conducted. Consequently, the main results remain robust. Thus, this paper provides novel and robust evidence on the negative impact of pandemics on Chinese firms' corporate innovation behavior.

An Outcome of Decoupling and De-globalization? The Weakened Impact of Internationalization on Innovation of Chinese Firms Since 2016

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Returnee policies in China: Does a strategy of alleviating the financing difficulty of returnee firms promote innovation?

The role of returnee entrepreneurs is an alternative mechanism in stimulating innovation in Chinese firms. However, after years of living abroad, returnee entrepreneurs encounter difficulty in financing due to the lack of local connections. Therefore, creating a resource-munificent context to alleviate the above difficulty becomes an emerging strategy of returnee policies. With this study, we try to explain whether and how such kind of policies promote innovation. By drawing on panelized data from 30,890 firm-year observations in the Zhongguancun Science Park, and based on a causal mediation analysis framework, this study presents a comprehensive view of relationships between returnee policies, corporation financing, and innovation performance. Our findings reveal that the policies promote innovation through the mediation effect of corporate financing, and the policies moderates the promotion effect of corporate financing on innovation performance. The study also offers evidence-based implications for policymakers and has practical meaning for returnee entrepreneurs.

Green supplier integration and environmental innovation in Chinese firms: The joint effect of governance mechanism and trust

AbstractDespite the importance of green supplier integration, how different governance mechanisms affect its influence on environmental innovation is still debated. This article explores the moderating effect of governance mechanisms (i.e., relational norms and contractual control) on the effects of green supplier integration and two dimensions of environmental innovation (i.e., environmental incremental and radical innovation), as well as the moderating roles of trust on the above moderating effects. We examine hypothesized relationships using two‐waved survey data from 206 Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Our results suggest that contractual control positively moderates the impact of green supplier integration on environmental incremental innovation, whereas relational norms negatively moderate this impact. However, both relational norms and contractual control fail to moderate the impact of green supplier integration and environmental radical innovation. Further, trust in supplier strengthens the negative moderating effect of relational norms on the impact of green supplier integration on environmental radical innovation, which reveals the “dark side” of trust in supplier.

A Review of Innovation in Chinese Firms over the Last 40 Years: Navigating the Winding Road Toward Innovation

A Review of Innovation in Chinese Firms over the Last 40 Years: Navigating the Winding Road Toward Innovation

Voluntary Environmental Regulations and Firm Innovation in China

The world is fighting the issue of increasing levels of pollution and the detrimental effects of the ecological imprints of the business industry. Pollution and other environmental issues are causing the environment to deteriorate; however, this has also led to an increased interest in the protection of the environment. The Porter hypothesis has stimulated a long debate on whether organizational regulations can lead to changes in a firm’s innovation. Building on these theories, this study evaluates the effect of voluntary environmental regulations (VERs) on the innovation of Chinese firms. For this purpose, the study uses a dichotomous dependent variable. The proxy variables used for evaluating the innovative performance of firms are the average investments made for research and development (R&D) activities, which are evaluated on the basis of investments made and the decision to invest in innovation activities. VERs were evaluated using applications for the ISO 14000 certification. The study uses firm level variables to answer the research questions, as well as control variables such as firm size, profitability, degree of competition, and high technology industry. The results of the estimations reveal that the impact of environmental regulations (ERs) is positive and significant in terms of the innovation output of the firms under consideration. Moreover, the results also highlight the fact that large firms with high levels of profitability and a presence in the technology sector are more adept at introducing innovative activities. The study also provides some policy implications.

Top-down, bottom-up or outside-in? An examination of triadic mechanisms on firm innovation in Chinese firms

This paper examines the influence of the interaction of three sources of innovation, namely, top-down (bureaucratic structure), bottom-up (high-involvement HRM) and outside-in (outreaching network), on two stages of firm innovation, i.e. invention and commercialization. Using data from 620 large Chinese companies, we found that there was a synergy between the bureaucratic structure and a high-involvement HRM system in influencing firm innovation. Social networks were most effective in promoting firm innovation in the presence of a high-involvement HRM system. The bureaucratic structure inhibited social networks in contributing to firm innovation. Ideas for future research and practical implications are discussed.

Summary of the General Discussion on “Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms”

March 01 2019 Summary of the General Discussion on “Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms” Author and Article Information Online Issn: 1536-0083 Print Issn: 1535-3516 © 2019 by the Asian Economic Panel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology2019Asian Economic Panel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Asian Economic Papers (2019) 18 (1): 243–244. https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00681 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation Summary of the General Discussion on “Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms”. Asian Economic Papers 2019; 18 (1): 243–244. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00681 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsAsian Economic Papers Search Advanced Search The general discussion began with several questions regarding the direction of China's innovation policy. First, Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista asked the authors to provide more discussion of China's shift from policies focused on the support of industrialization to policies focused on technology and innovation implemented through direct intervention. Gochoco-Bautista noted that increasingly active government intervention in innovation by China stands in contrast with current discussions in the Philippines about the potential removal of tax holidays that are provided to pioneering firms. Kiichiro Fukusaku also pushed the authors to further elaborate on China's technology policies and to provide firm information that would shed light on industry strategy. To begin, Fukusaku noted that the distinction between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOE firms may not be as stark as imagined. For example, Fukusaku described the coordinated operations of SINOPEC, an SOE holding company, and other firms that are privatized entities, asking whether the SOE... You do not currently have access to this content.

Comments on Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms

March 01 2019 Comments on Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms Author and Article Information Online Issn: 1536-0083 Print Issn: 1535-3516 © 2019 by the Asian Economic Panel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology2019Asian Economic Panel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Asian Economic Papers (2019) 18 (1): 237–238. https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00679 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Search Site Citation Comments on Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms. Asian Economic Papers 2019; 18 (1): 237–238. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00679 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsAsian Economic Papers Search Advanced Search Ming Lu, Shanghai Jiaotong University: In recent years, China has made great progress in science and technology development. Whether this is because of the powerful state is an ongoing public dispute in China. This paper is timely and thought-provoking and provides evidence using data from China for the dispute. More generally, I hope those who are interested in the role of the state in economic development by industrial policies or any other policy tools will read this paper. This is the background I'd like to add to this paper. This paper finds that the effects of national science and technology programs may have been over-estimated. After using a matching difference-in-differences method, the effects of the programs become insignificant. This means the effects are largely because of selection, which is usually known as “picking the winner.” In other words, even without the resources given by the government, the better firms should... You do not currently have access to this content.

Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms

This paper aims to evaluate whether national science and technology programs in China help boost private investment in research and development and improve firms’ productive efficiency and innovation performance. The empirical analysis is based on a survey of 443 innovative firms in China during the period of 2008–11. A matching estimator together with a difference-in-difference approach is employed to investigate the effect of undertaking national science and technology programs. The results show that the effectiveness of national science and technology programs may be over-estimated. There are also heterogeneous effects across firms of different sizes and ownership and with different programs.

Comments on Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms

Comments on Effects of National Science and Technology Programs on Innovation in Chinese Firms

The State as a Vehicle of Technological Change: Economic Openness, Technological Catching-up, and Indigenous Innovation in Chinese Firms

AbstractThe global integration of capital and technology generates a pressing debate on how technologically backward countries can benefit fromFDI, and catch up technologically. This study identifies the mechanisms in the triangle of globalization-state-firm accounting for firms’ indigenous innovations. Specifically, I test three types of the state’s roles—the state’s infrastructure-building, partnership with the firm, and direct intervention into firm governance, combined withFDIspillovers and local firms’ absorptive capacity, in shaping local firms’ innovativeness in a national dataset of Chinese firms. I find that during Chinese firms’ initial technological take-off, the state helped enhance local firms’ indigenous innovativeness through its infrastructure-building and various partnerships with the firms. All three types of the state’s roles are found to positively modulate the firms’ absorptive capacities in affecting their innovativeness. The state’s infrastructure-building and the firm’s state ownership helped weaken the negative role of someFDI-related effects in influencing firm innovativeness.

Corporate innovation and political connections in Chinese listed firms

This paper examines the relationship between political connections and corporate innovation in China. We find that political connections hinder corporate innovation activities and reduce innovation efficiency, suggesting the existence of political resource curse effect on corporate innovation in Chinese firms. In addition, we find that political connections reduce market competition and increase firms' overinvestments, leading to the crowding out effect with the limited resources insufficiently and inefficiently allocated to corporate innovation in firms. We also find that political connections weaken the impact of corporate innovation on firm future performance. Nonpolitically connected firms with patent applications have better and more effective future business performance than politically connected firms. This study provides policy implications for policy makers to reduce government-led resource allocation, improve market-oriented innovation mechanism, and standardize government subsidies to make the allocation process more transparent, so that corporate technological innovation can lead to the regional and national economic growth.