在位企业纵向整合对市值的影响:创新的中介作用

The impact of vertical integration of incumbents on the market value:The mediating role of innovation

颠覆性技术创新激化了企业间的“跨界竞争”,使纵向整合成为在位企业扭转不利地位、保持和巩固竞争优势的有效手段。本文基于汽车制造上市企业数据,运用纵向整合理论,探讨在位企业在应对上游颠覆性技术进入者时采取何种纵向整合策略,即向上游并购或向下游联盟,以及分析该种策略对市值的影响机理,并揭示创新在其中的作用机制。研究发现:(1)当上游存在颠覆性技术进入者时,在位企业向上游并购对市值具有正向影响,向下游联盟对市值具有负向影响;(2)当上游存在颠覆性技术进入者时,在位企业向上游并购对创新行为有抑制作用,向下游联盟对创新行为有促进作用;(3)由于纵向整合的方向不同,创新行为对市值有着截然不同的影响。具体来说,创新行为在在位企业向上游并购与市值之间存在遮掩作用,创新行为在在位企业向下游联盟与市值之间存在中介作用。

The disruptive technological innovation has intensified“cross-border competition”among enterprises,making vertical integration an effective means for incumbent firms to reverse unfavorable positions and sustain competitive advantages.Leveraging research data from the traditional automobile manufacturing industry,this paper employs vertical integration theory to scrutinize the impact mechanisms of incumbent firms’vertical integration strategies—specifically,upstream acquisitions and downstream alliances—in response to disruptive technological entrants in the upstream.The study delves into the influence of these strategies on market valuation and unveils the underlying mechanisms through which innovation operates within this context.The results show that in the presence of disruptive technology entrants in the upstream segment,incumbent enterprises’upstream mergers and acquisitions(M&A)exert a positive influence on market value,while downstream alliances have a negative impact.And in scenarios involving disruptive technology entrants in the upstream,upstream M&A activities by incumbent enterprises act as a suppressant for innovation.Conversely,downstream alliances by incumbents serve as catalysts,fostering innovation.Given the divergence in the direction of vertical integration,innovative behavior exerts distinctly varied influences on market value.To be specific,innovative activities function as a masking mechanism between incumbent firms’upstream acquisitions and market valuation,while simultaneously acting as an intermediary variable between incumbent firms’downstream alliances and market valuation.