Innovation Efficiency Research Articles

Study on the Impact of Carbon Financial Transactions on Green Innovation Efficiency

Carbon financial trading is an innovative means of utilizing market mechanisms to promote greenhouse gas emission reduction, which is of great significance for achieving low-carbon, green and sustainable development. And green innovation efficiency is a comprehensive index, which reflects the efficiency of resource and technology allocation in the process of green innovation, as well as the potential and ability to achieve high output. Every leap forward in green innovation is toward cleaner, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly goals, and improving the efficiency of innovation is key to ensuring that the process is sustainable and more conducive to sustainable development and environmental protection. This paper takes 15 provinces and cities in our country as the research object. Based on the perspective of input and output, the Super-efficient SBM model is used to measure the efficiency of green innovation in 15 provinces and cities using Matlab, and the Tobit model is used for empirical analysis. The results show that economic agents utilize resources efficiently in the process of production and innovation, and can balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection well. CDM projects have a significant negative impact on green innovation efficiency, and the impact of CDM projects on green innovation efficiency may be restricted by a variety of factors.

How do property rights affect corporate ESG performance? The moderating effect of green innovation efficiency

Data from China's A-share listed companies indicates that property rights (PR) significantly influence Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance, with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) outperforming non-SOEs. The state-owned shareholding ratio (SSR) does not linearly correlate with higher ESG performance. Instead, a non-linear threshold effect is observed, and maintaining SSR below 42 % significantly enhances ESG performance. Additionally, green innovation efficiency (GIE) moderates the impact of PR on ESG performance, and the increase in GIE exacerbates the disparity in ESG performance between SOEs and non-SOEs. Compared to the efficiency of applying green tech achievements, green tech R&D efficiency has a more pronounced moderating effect.

How do executive excess compensation affect enterprise technological innovation: Evidence from a panel threshold model of chinese biopharmaceutical companies

This study examines the levels of executive excess compensation (EEC) that stimulate the quality and efficiency of enterprise technology innovation (ETI). Using a behavioral agency perspective, we investigate how companies achieve superior ETI by providing sufficient incentives to motivate executives to perform to the best of their abilities. We use a panel threshold model based on a sample of Chinese-listed biopharmaceutical companies and find that: (1) providing an EEC between 0.0592 and 0.1907 significantly affects the promotion of ETI quality; (2) regarding ETI efficiency, executives generally do not receive the compensation that they deserve; and (3) the existing EEC has a weak negative impact on ETI efficiency, gradually disappearing as compensation increases. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that restricting EEC to the eastern area and strengthening the supervision of EEC in state-owned enterprises are effective measures for stimulating ETI. We advance the literature by providing guidance on compensation plans to companies in different regions.

Enterprise digital transformation and ESG performance

This article empirically tests the impact of enterprise digital transformation on ESG performance and its channel mechanism. Based on the data of Chinese listed enterprises from 2009 to 2019, this article uses crawler technology to capture the key words of “digital transformation” in the annual reports of enterprises and the collection of policies supporting enterprises’ digitalization in China to describe the intensity of enterprises’ digital transformation. We find that enterprise digital transformation significantly improves ESG performance. The intermediary mechanism shows that the improvement of enterprises’ digital transformation can improve enterprises’ ESG performance from three aspects: first, it can strengthen the effect of external supervision by improving information symmetry; second, it can promote the improvement of enterprises’ innovation output and innovation efficiency; third, it can optimize enterprises’ internal governance and reduce agency costs. Industry heterogeneity analysis shows that in industries with high degree of digital peers and monopoly, the improvement effect of enterprise digital transformation on ESG performance is more obvious. Based on the above findings, we put forward corresponding policy recommendations.

Dual circulation strategy, regional healthcare development, and medical collaborative innovation efficiency: evidence from Chinese cities.

This study analyzes panel data of Chinese cities from 2003 to 2018 as a sample in the context of the dual circulation strategy in China to ascertain the impact of urban healthcare development on medical collaborative innovation efficiency by using the GS2SLS method. Furthermore, it empirically examines the influence mechanism of regional healthcare development on medical collaborative innovation efficiency by using a threshold regression model. Additionally, we identified the heterogeneity of this impact in different cities. The results show the following: (1) There is a significant positive spatial correlation between regional healthcare development and medical collaborative innovation efficiency; (2) Under the dual circulation strategy, the regional investment level in international circulation has the most significant role in the overall strategy, and domestic circulation has been significantly improved after the launch of the innovation-driven strategy; (3) The results of the threshold test show that while domestic and international circulation promote the efficiency of collaborative innovation by 0.83, the promotion effect is more obvious under a higher regional healthcare development level. The research in this paper can provide specific guidance for the development of China's healthcare industry under the background of dual-cycle strategy, and can also provide valuable reference for developing countries in the world.

Service Innovation Performance in Sierra Leone's Banking Sector: An Empirical Analysis

This study investigates the innovation efficiency of Sierra Leone's banking sector, utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) across 14 commercial banks representing 70% of the sector's total assets from 2017 to 2022. By analyzing existing financial and operational data, the study assesses performance variations and identifies disparities in innovation efficiency among these institutions. Findings indicate significant discrepancies in innovation efficiency levels, highlighting the critical role of strategic investment in technology and innovation for enhancing competitiveness and growth. This research contributes theoretically and practically to the literature on service innovation in banking in developing countries. It provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of DEA models in performance evaluation, offering benchmarks and strategic insights that could inform future policy and operational strategies. The study underscores the need for Sierra Leone banks to continually invest in innovative capabilities to maintain and enhance their competitive edge in a dynamic financial environment.

Research on the innovation efficiency evaluation of Unicorn Enterprises in Anhui Province based on the three-stage DEA model

Unicorns, as unlisted start-ups valued at more than $1 billion, have a significant impact on economic development and industry innovation. However, they also face problems such as unclear innovation paths and rigid business models, which can lead to lower user satisfaction and lower market value. The article begins with determining the importance of unicorns in the global economy, and points out that the efficiency of technological innovation transformation is the key to measuring their success. Then, the innovation efficiency of unicorn enterprises is evaluated through the three-stage DEA model, and 11 A-share unicorn concept listed companies in Anhui province are empiranalyzed. The research results show that different enterprises differ in the efficiency of scientific and technological innovation, and some enterprises such as COWA ROBOT and INNOTRON MEMORY performing well in pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Other companies need to further improve in technology application and scale management. In addition, the research also put forward countermeasures and suggestions such as promoting regional linkage and innovation resource sharing, optimizing government support policies and building an efficient scientific and technological innovation service system, so as to improve the transformation efficiency of scientific and technological innovation achievements of unicorn enterprises.

Innovation and Financial Disclosure

ABSTRACTWe examine how financial disclosure policy affects a firm manager's strategy to innovate within a two‐period bandit problem featuring two production methods: an old method with a known probability of success, and a new method with an unknown probability. Exploring the new method in the first period provides the manager with decision‐useful information for the second period, thus creating a real option that is unavailable under exploiting the old known production method. Voluntary disclosure of the firm's financial performance provides the manager with another option to potentially conceal initial failure from the market. The interaction of these two options determines the manager's incentive to explore. In equilibrium, a myopic manager who cares about the interim market price may over‐ or under‐explore compared to the optimal exploration strategy that maximizes firm value. Our analysis shows that firms operating in an environment with voluntary disclosure early in the trial stage and mandated requirement later are most motivated to explore, while firms subject to early mandated disclosure and late voluntary disclosure are least likely to do so. We also provide empirical predictions about the link between the disclosure environment and the intensity and efficiency of corporate innovation.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS: CHALLENGES OF DIGITALIZATION

The article analyzes the impact of digitalization processes on the agricultural sector and the challenges faced by enterprises in this industry. The author analyzes the impact of external and internal environmental factors on the development of agricultural businesses and the problems that delay the development of digital technologies in agriculture. It is noted that an important element of marketing management is a systematic approach that allows establishing relationships between these factors, assessing their impact and formulating marketing management strategies. Based on the results of the study, the author substantiates the need to create favorable conditions for the introduction of digital tools in the marketing management of agricultural businesses. The results of the analysis also indicate the potential of using innovative marketing methods, such as analyzing market trends and using digital communication channels, to overcome the challenges of digitalization and increase the competitiveness of the agricultural sector. The prospects for the development of digitalization processes in the marketing management of agricultural enterprises are considered. It is noted that through systematic market analysis, budget management, and the use of digital technologies and communication channels, enterprises can skillfully navigate market fluctuations while optimizing operational resources. The study provides the conclusions necessary for the further development of marketing management strategies in agriculture, taking into account the current challenges of digitalization and the needs of agricultural businesses in Ukraine. It is stated that the prospects for the development of digitalization processes in agrarian business emphasize the importance of integrating marketing management into the strategic planning of agricultural enterprises and its potential to increase the efficiency of innovation in this sector.

Evaluation of innovation efficiency of high-tech enterprise based on DEA and Malmquist index under the background of sustainable development

Purpose This paper aims to promote the higher quality development of high-tech enterprises in China. While science and technology have greatly promoted human civilization, resources have been excessively consumed and the environment has been sharply polluted. Therefore, it is particularly important for current enterprises to make use of scientific and technological innovation to maximize the benefits of mankind, minimize the loss of nature, and promote the sustainable development of our country. Design/methodology/approach By using DEA-Banker-Charnes-Cooper (BCC) model and DEA-Malmquist model, this paper comprehensively examines the innovation efficiency of high-tech enterprises from both static and dynamic perspectives, and conducts a provincial comparative study with the panel data of ten representative provinces from 2011 to 2020. Findings The research findings are as follows: the rapid number increase of high-tech enterprises in most provinces (cities) is accompanied by an ineffective input–output efficiency; the quality of high-tech enterprises needs to comprehensively examine both input–output efficiency and total factor productivity; and there is not a positive correlation between element investment and innovation performance. Research limitations/implications Because the DEA model used in this paper assumes that the improvement direction of invalid units is to ensure that the input ratio of various production factors remains unchanged but sometimes the proportion of scientific and technological activities personnel and the total research and development investment is not constant. In the future, the nonradial DEA model can be considered for further research. Due to historical data statistics, more provinces, cities and longer panel data are difficult to obtain. The samples studied in this paper mainly refer to the provinces and cities that ranked first in the number of national high-tech enterprises in 2020. Limited by the number of samples, DEA analysis failed to select more input and output indicators. In the future, with the accumulation of statistical data, the existing efficiency analysis will be further optimized. Originality/value Aiming at the misunderstanding of emphasizing quantity and neglecting quality in the cultivation of high-tech enterprises, this paper comprehensively uses DEA-BCC model and DEA Malmquist index decomposition method to make a comprehensive comparative study on the development of high-tech enterprises in ten representative provinces (cities) from two aspects of static efficiency evaluation and dynamic efficiency evaluation.

Is it possible for semiconductor companies to reduce carbon emissions through digital transformation? Evidence from China

The semiconductor industry serves as both a driver of digital transformation (DT) and a bearer of energy preservation and lower emissions. This study focuses on the Chinese-listed semiconductor businesses from 2013 to 2021, delving into the mechanism of digital transformation on reducing carbon emissions. It validates the moderating function of supply chain configuration and reveals heterogeneity at both the regional and corporate levels. The following important results are reached by this work: Among semiconductor enterprises, firstly, digital transformation considerably reduces enterprises' carbon emission intensity, a conclusion that stands robust after robustness checks. Secondly, digital transformation achieves carbon mitigation by improving both green and traditional innovation efficiency. Thirdly, the increased centralization of supply chain configuration propels enterprises to achieve carbon reductions through digital transformation. Lastly, heterogeneity research finds that digital transformation in the eastern area inhibits the increase in carbon intensity, while the central-western and northeastern regions do not exhibit a similar trend. At the enterprise level, the carbon mitigation effect of digital transformation is especially noticeable in semiconductor enterprises that are highly labor-intensive, large in size, have high environmental uncertainty, and are state-owned. These findings provide empirical evidence for semiconductor enterprises to implement differentiated digital transformation practices and coordinate the creation of green transformation policies.

Literature Review Regarding Corporate Innovation

This paper systematically reviews the determinants and consequences of corporate innovation. The main findings are as follows. From a micro-level perspective, the diversification of the gender structure of the board of directors, the improvement of the welfare of employees, the corporate social responsibility performance, the external competitive environment, and the choice of innovation strategy can positively promote the company’s innovation and ensure the quality, efficiency, and success rate of innovation. From a macro perspective, judicial independence stimulates innovative activities, while the promulgation of the monopoly law and the uncertainty of the economic policy will dampen the incentives to innovate. As for the consequences of innovation, it helps enterprises transform and upgrade, brings efficient management mode more in line with the operation of enterprises, creates differentiated products for enterprises, helps enterprises reduce costs, and improves the efficiency of employees, etc. This literature review focuses on several latitudes and multiple aspects to elaborate their comprehensive impact on innovation so that readers can understand faster and more conveniently. Moreover, it provides direction for innovation for companies and can also make countries more aware of the importance of innovation. Collectively, this survey is a supplement to the existing literature and has practical implications.

Impact of New Energy Industry Agglomeration on Green Innovation Efficiency—Based on the Regulative Effect of Green Finance

With the implementation of China’s innovation-driven high-quality economic development strategy, green and innovation are already the key factors of economic development. Therefore, developing green industry and improving regional green innovation have attracted wide attention and are of great significance to the sustainable development of China’s economy. Therefore, starting from China’s provincial panel from 2012 to 2021, this paper first uses the super-efficiency relaxation data envelopment analysis model (Super-SBM) to estimate green innovation efficiency (GI) and then uses the location entropy to measure the regional agglomeration level of the new energy industry (agg). Then, the generalized estimation of moments (GMM) model is used to explore the impact of agg on GI and verify the regulatory mechanism of green finance (GF). The results are as follows: (1) agg presents a distribution of “the highest in the eastern region, followed by the central region, and the lowest in the western region”, (2) agg can facilitate the improvement of GI, and in accordance with the threshold model, moderate GF will further amplify this effect. Therefore, the state and government should further promote the green finance policy, guide new energy enterprises to gather and contribute to the sustainable development of China’s economy.

Does voluntary environmental regulation stimulate corporate green innovation efficiency? An empirical study from China’s A-share listed companies

Voluntary environmental regulation has attracted much attention due to the autonomy associated with its implementation. Taking the low-carbon pilot cities (LCPC) program in China as an example, this article evaluates the role of voluntary environmental regulation on the efficiency of corporate green innovation (GIE) based on the listed Chinese A-share companies for the period 2008–2016. In particular, we employ heterogeneity analysis to assess the characteristics of enterprises and local officials (including official source, tenure, age, and education). The results demonstrate that the LCPC program has restrained the development of GIE by increasing enterprise costs, inducing financing difficulties, and enhancing corporate social responsibility. Enterprises led by CEOs with a high education level and located in cities run by external promotion and younger, and long-term officials are linked with weaker inhibitive policy impacts.

The road to sustainable development: exploring the impact of green technology innovation and environmental regulation on the green competitiveness of heavily polluting manufacturing industries

This study tests the impact of green technology innovation (GTI) from green innovation output (GTIO) and green innovation efficiency (GTIE) on green competitiveness (GTFP) and the non-linear moderating effect of environmental regulation (ERI) using a sample of 156 listed enterprises in heavily polluting manufacturing industries from 2016 to 2021. Results show that GTIO promotes GTFP, but GTIE inhibits GTFP. ERI has a significant “U-shaped” moderating effect between GTI and GTFP. Non-state-owned enterprises have relatively weak GTI ability but stronger sensitivity to ERI. Enterprises with high market concentration have outstanding GTI strength and can form positive interactions with ERI. High GTFP enterprises’ GTI has a more positive impact on GTFP, but the ERI is better coupled with GTIO in low GTFP enterprises. Our findings imply that policymakers should formulate appropriate environmental policies for enterprises in different situations, while enterprises should respond positively to ERI through multiple channels to enhance green competitiveness.

From green-washing to innovation-washing: Environmental information intangibility and corporate green innovation in China

We use a sample of China's listed firms and employ a naïve Bayesian machine learning algorithm to reveal that environmental information intangibility superficially promotes green innovation. We demonstrate that this effect is channelled through the acquisition of institutional resources, including bank loans and government subsidies. The impact of environmental information intangibility on green innovation is most pronounced in state-owned enterprises, large firms, and politically connected firms. Furthermore, we confirm that environmental information intangibility does not lead to improvements in innovation efficiency or quality. This implies that green innovation may serve as a symbolic environmental activity. Our findings contribute to the research on environmental information intangibility, greenwashing behaviour, and their relationship to green innovation.

Can university-enterprise cooperative innovation promote total factor productivity? – Evidence from Chinese-listed firms

ABSTRACT Based on the patent data of university-enterprise cooperative innovation (UECI) from CNIPA and the financial data of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2022, we find that UECI can promote the total factor productivity (TFP) of enterprises and that the average application value of each UECI patent is 29.07 million yuan, and confirm the robustness of our conclusions using the instrumental variables method, system GMM and the Heckman two-step method. The results of the mediation analysis show that UECI promotes the TFP of enterprises through three channels: alleviating financing constraints, attracting more knowledge workers and increasing the innovation efficiency of the enterprise. UECI can build alumni linkages between universities and enterprises, expand financing channels and attract more university students to join the company after cooperation, thus increasing their workers’ overall education level. UECI can also enable the firm to emulate academics how to innovate more effectively. Heterogeneity analysis shows that UECI can lead to a higher TFP improvement for enterprises in the leasing and business service industry and scientific research and technology service industry, which are 97 and 3 times higher than the baseline regression, respectively.

An Improved Slack Based Measure Model for Evaluating Green Innovation Efficiency Based on Asymmetric Data

Nowadays, one of the main challenges facing green innovation management is how to enhance the performance of innovation processes by utilizing asymmetric input and output data. Therefore, this paper develops an improved SBM model analysis framework for evaluating the green innovation efficiency of asymmetric input and output data. The framework is applied to assess the technical (TE), managerial (PTE), and scale (SE) efficiencies of new energy companies under three input variables (R&D personnel input, R&D capital input, and comprehensive energy consumption input), two desirable output variables (green technology output and economic output), and one undesirable output variable (greenhouse gas emissions). Then, environmental factors and random factors are eliminated from the obtained input slack variables based on the SFA model, placing decision-making units in a homogeneous environment. The results demonstrate that TE, PTE, and SE are improved after eliminating environmental factors and random factors. Subsequently, based on the entropy method, this paper classifies companies’ green innovation patterns into four categories and provides targeted solutions. The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation method for new energy companies to understand green innovation efficiency and assist decision makers in identifying the most optimal resource allocation approach. The proposed improved SBM model contributes to the literature and to industry practice by (1) providing a reliable evaluation of green innovation efficiency under asymmetric input and output data; (2) determining effective improvement actions based on a slack analysis of environmental variables and random variables that lead to improved process performance; and (3) making fuzzy innovation performance efficient to facilitate understanding and managing innovation resource allocation quality.

Multilevel Synergy of Information Technology for Operational Integration: Competition Networks and Operating Performance

Firms’ multilevel access to information plays a significant role in improving operating performance. Increasingly, firms are enhancing their operational integration through information technology (IT) as they grapple with intense competition. Competition networks are an essential but often overlooked source of information that, if leveraged correctly, can provide firms with significant competitive and operational advantages. In this study, we develop a multilevel research model of operating performance (firm level) that simultaneously considers the effects of IT for operational integration (ITOI, firm level) and competitive brokerage (competition network level). We explicate how ITOI and competitive brokerage afford firms’ synergy through complementarities and relatedness of competitive actions, information, and resources to improve their operating performance. We assess the model using a 7-year longitudinal secondary data set that includes firms from multiple industries and find support for our thesis that ITOI and competitive brokerage have a synergistic effect on operating performance. Our exploratory analysis uncovers innovation efficiency as a theoretical mechanism underlying the relationships between ITOI, competitive brokerage, and operating performance. Further exploratory analyses with disaggregated measures of ITOI highlight that synergies arise from IT-enabled coordination and integration across the supply chain and within functional areas of an organization. These findings are robust to concerns of endogeneity and alternative model specifications. We make three critical contributions to our collective understanding of the relationship between IT and operating performance—synergy as a means through which operating performance is realized, a multilevel model of relationships, and a nuanced understanding of the relationships between ITOI, competitive brokerage, and operating performance. Overall, we provide a summative view of the multilevel effects of IT on operating performance.

The driving effect of technological innovation on green development: From the perspective of efficiency

Green development is considered to be an effective way to achieve win-win between economy and environment, and technological innovation is the core driving force of green transformation development. High-tech industries are the core industries of industrial technology and economic development, and their technological innovation ability and green development level are important supports for optimizing the national industrial structure and promoting the green transformation of industries. Therefore, based on the concept of innovation and green development, this paper analyzes the industrial development rule from the perspective of the interaction mechanism between technological innovation and green development, to provide theoretical reference for the design of corresponding development strategies and planning. Hence, NSBM model is constructed to evaluate the efficiency of multi-stage technology innovation and deconstruct the evolution law of technology innovation value chain of high-tech industry. Secondly, GML model is used to evaluate green total factor productivity and clarify the green and high-quality development status of high-tech industry. Finally, the truncated regression model is constructed to analyze the factors affecting the external environment of green transformation development. The results indicate that the upgrading of technology innovation value chain is conducive to promoting green transformation development.