多市场接触下的企业竞争策略——来自汽车行业的研发行为证据

FirmsCompetitive Strategies under Multimarket Contact:Evidence from R&D Behavior in the Automotive Industry

突破单个市场的静态竞争转而聚焦多市场接触下的动态竞争已成为企业研发行为的现实选择,但相关研究依然局限于单个市场的竞争格局。本文整合相互克制理论与网络理论视角,研究产品维度的多市场接触水平对企业研发深度和广度的影响,并通过考察体现技术市场竞争意图和竞争能力的两类因素(学习相对活跃度与技术存量优势)来分析多市场接触下研发行为得以推进的机制。本文利用2008—2020中国汽车行业的上市公司数据发现:多市场接触显著促进了企业研发广度和研发深度的提升;学习相对活跃度仅加强多市场接触与研发深度的关系,无法提高多市场接触格局下的研发广度;技术存量优势会同时强化多市场接触与研发广度和研发深度的关系。研究结果表明,源自产品领域多市场接触的相互克制可以越过产品市场而影响企业在研发领域的竞争行为,推动企业双路径研发创新,该结论对于指导企业应对全局竞争态势具有重要意义。

Multimarket contact(MMC)refers to the situation in which enterprises meet and compete in two or more markets at the same time.Mutual restraint effect is the mainstream theory of multi⁃market contact.In the context of mutual restraint,enterprises not only need to avoid being eliminated in the competition of new technologies,but also need to resist the new entrants in the industry.Innovation is an important means for MMC enterprises to maintain the situation of mutual restraint in the product market and improve their competitive advantages.How multi⁃market contact affects the R&D behavior of firms in factor markets is a frontier field.The existing few literatures have different opinions.Some scholars believe that multi⁃market contact positively promotes innovation,some scholars think that it is negatively correlated,and some think that it is not correlated.The main reason for these divergencies may be that companies do not practice comprehensive research and development.In thispaper,enterprise R&D behavior is subdivided into two aspects:the depth and breadth of R&D.By integrating the theory of mutual restraint and the perspective of knowledge,the relationship between the multimarket contact level of product dimension and the depth and breadth of enterprise R&D is studied respectively.In addition,the current boundary conditions of the relationship between MMC and innovation only consider the characteristics of the market,and do not pay attention to the most relevant knowledge characteristics of the R&D market.Scholars generally believe that knowledge flow and stock,as the most direct guarantee of R&D activities,have an important impact on enterprisesattitude towards competition and the competitive situation of factor markets.However,the research shows that the enterprises with strong knowledge resource endowment either tend to specialize in technology to reduce the cost and risk of knowledge dispersion in the process of innovation,or exist the phenomenon of“distraction”in technology research and development and over⁃rely on technology diversification.Therefore,this paper further analyzes the mechanism of the promotion of R&D behavior under multi⁃market contact,and examines two moderating factors:the relative activity of learning compared with competitors and the advantage of technology stock.Based on the data of listed companies in China's automobile industry from 2008 to 2020,the empirical study found that:(1)Multimarket contact can promote the breadth and depth of R&D of enterprises at the same time;(2)The relative activity of learning only strengthens the relationship between multimarket contact and R&D depth,and cannot promote the parallel R&D behavior;(3)Advantage of technology stock will strengthen the relationship between multimarket contact and R&D breadth and depth.Heterogeneity test results show that multimarket contact is more likely to promote the R&D depth and breadth of large enterprises;The passenger car market is more likely to promote the positive effect of multimarket contact on two⁃way R&D behavior;At the same time,regions with higher marketization process are more sensitive to the incentive effect of multimarket contact on R&D behavior.The results show that the mutual restraint from the multi⁃market contact in the product field can go beyond the product market and affect the competitive behavior of enterprises in the R&Dfield,and the multi⁃market competition pattern is an important driving force to prevent the“distraction”of enterprisesR&D,inhibit the rigidity of enterprisesR&D,and then promote the“walking on two legs”of enterprisesinnovation.Among them,the advantage of technology stock represents the competitiveness of the focus firm and is the key mechanism to promote the realization of the R&D depth and breadth of MMC enterprises at the same time.However,relative learning activity only has a positive effect on the R&D depth of MMC enterprises,indicating that the positive competitive attitude of enterprises has practical limitations in the multimarket contact pattern,and the enterprise's cross⁃domain knowledge incremental is limited.Enterprises are attracted to the same type of enterprises,limited by the core technology field,resulting in the strong learning activity of enterprises do not highlight the advantages.