Firm innovation system: Paths for enhancing corporate indigenous innovation capability

To obtain a sustainable competitive advantage and achieve global innovation leadership,firms in China and other emerging economies must develop strong indigenous innovation capabilities through the coevolution of strategy,organization,resources,and culture.Drawing on current innovation management theories and practices,this study proposes four systematic paths for improving firm innovation systems(FISs),namely,the R&D-based internal collaborative FIS,the strategic vision-driven FIS,the open and user-driven FIS,and the holistic ecosystemdriven FIS.This study contributes to the systematic approach for enhancing corporate indigenous innovation capability based on FISs.Moreover,this study provides theoretical and practical insights for China as well as other developing countries to cultivate world-class enterprises and build an innovative nation.

Resource constraints and firm innovation:When less is more?

This paper explores the relationship between resource constraints and innovation of new firms.Drawing upon the relevant literature,we incorporate resource constraints as the antecedent to the bricolage-innovation link.Compared to prior studies that treated resource constraints as a one-dimensional variable,we operationalize it along two dimensions:knowledge constraints and financial constraints.Our argument posits that knowledge constraints and financial constraints act as catalysts for innovation in new firms,with bricolage serving as a mediating role.To test our hypotheses,we conducted a survey involving 183 entrepreneurs in the United States.The data analysis demonstrates that bricolage fully mediates the relationship between knowledge con‐straints and innovation and partially mediates the relationship between financial constraints and innovation.Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

High-Speed Railway and Firm Innovation:Evidence from DID Method

With the launch of high-speed railways as a natural experiment,this paper finds that firms along the route became much more innovative after a high-speed railway was put into use,as reflected by the robust growth in patent licenses and applications,especially invention patents.From a dynamic view,high-speed railways’effects on firm patents increased over the years with a one-year lag in the effect on patent licenses relative to the effect on patent applications.This lag of impact reflects the normal cycle of firm innovation.Furthermore,our survey on the employees’education level at firms along the route verified that the inflow of skilled workforce helped firms innovate.After a high-speed railway was put into service,firms along the route saw a sharp rise in the percentage of college-educated personnel,most of whom were employed at technical positions.Highspeed railways contributed more to the innovation output of firms in medium-sized and large cities and within innovation-oriented firms.This paper has enriched relevant research on the drivers of firm innovation and the economics of high-speed railways.

Effects of China’s Manufacturing Exports on Firm Innovation in the US

Based on the market segmentation theory,this paper employed data on China-US trade and firm R&D,innovation and TFP to investigate the long-term effects of China’s manufacturing exports on firm innovation in the US from an heterogeneity perspective,and tested the underlying mechanism.The authors found that in the long run,China’s manufacturing exports had to some extent increased manufacturing firm innovation in the US.The effect is highly heterogeneous across various manufacturing sectors.While Chinese exports affect the innovation output of non-core manufacturing firms in the US,they did little on the innovation of core manufacturing firms in the US.In the long run,the cumulative R&D input of core manufacturing firms in the US has not decreased significantly,and factors of production had migrated from non-core to core manufacturing sectors.Such a reallocation of production factors has increased specialization and overall innovation output from US manufacturing firms.By demonstrating that the rise of developing countries is consistent with the theory of comparative advantages,this paper refutes the“China threat”narrative touted by some developed countries,and provides scientific basis for rational resource allocation and international division of labor.

Does Innovation Drive Sustainable Competitive Advantages？

This paper examines the critical role of innovations as a driver for sustainable competitive advantages. A quadruple model of global strategy is introduced. The model is based on the introduction of an innovation-based perspective of strategy. This is in addition to the other three but well-known perspectives of global strategy （industry-based, resource-based, and institution-based views）. Thus, the four perspectives of strategy could lead a complete set of factors that need to be analyzed for the formulation of global strategy. The model could assist organizations in sustaining their competitive advantages. It is proposed that the introduction of the innovation-based view represents the fourth perspective of a strategy quadruple, thus overcoming a long-standing criticism, namely, the global strategy may lack adequate attention to innovation in developing a firms＇ global competitive strategies. This paper presents a set of four hypotheses. When tested, these hypotheses could result in a better understanding of the link between the innovation and the global strategy domain. Furthermore, the quadruple model could be useful in understanding the relationship between innovativeness and business performance. It is anticipated that this paper could assist researchers, business management, and analysts in developing global innovation strategies.

Could Innovation be Driven by Globalization？

This paper examines the critical role of globalization as a driver for innovation. The introduction of the global strategy quadruple model truly links the three known strategy perspectives （namely, industry competition, resources and institution views） and performance. The model could assist in advancing the cause of sustainable competitive advantages. This study could assist scholars in addressing the three important research questions： （1） Why are some finns more innovative than others？ （2） What effects do product, firm, industry, and market innovativeness have on business performance？ and （3） Does the link between innovativeness and business performance depend on all or some of the innovativeness factors of product, firm, industry, and market？ The presented set of four hypotheses, when tested, will result in a better understanding of the links and relationships among a firm＇s global strategy, innovativeness, and business performance. The quadruple model presented can be used to examine these relationships in general and in the context of innovation. It is anticipated that this paper will assist researchers, business management, and analysts in developing global innovation strategies.

Fostering firm innovativeness:Understanding the sequential relationships between human resource practices,psychological empowerment,innovative work behavior,and firm innovative capability

This study investigated the relationships between human resource(HR)practices,employee psychological empowerment,employee innovative work behavior,and firm innovation capability in the context of the Information and Communication Technology(ICT)sector in Jordan.Employing the Social Exchange Theory(SET)as a guiding framework,this study explored how employee psychological empowerment and innovative work behavior mediated the influence of HR practices on a firm’s innovative capabilities.Drawing on extensive data collected from ICT organizations in Jordan,our analysis had several key findings.A significant positive correlation between HR practices and psychological empowerment was observed.Job design emerged as the most influential factor affecting psychological empowerment,whereas compensation had a weaker impact.Furthermore,we established that psychological empowerment significantly enhanced innovative work behavior,underscoring its role as a catalyst for innovative work behavior within the sector.Finally,our study supported the theory that psychological empowerment influenced a firms’innovation capabilities,emphasizing the pivotal role of employee empowerment in driving firm-level innovation in the Jordanian ICT sector.These findings provide insights for academic and practical audiences,clarifying how HR practices,employee psychological empowerment,and innovative work behavior collectively influenced firm innovation capability within the unique context of the Jordanian ICT sector.

Anti-corruption, marketisation and firm behaviours: evidence from firm innovation in China

China has launched an anti-corruption campaign since theEighteenth CPC National Congress, which has exerted widespreadinfluences on Chinese politics and economy. This paper examinesthe effect of the anti-corruption initiative on firm behaviours fromthe perspective of research and development (R&D) investments. Itshows that pursuing political connections and improving innovation are two mutually exclusive alternatives for firm growth inChina. The anti-corruption campaign raises the cost of seeking forpolitical bond and strengthens the incentive for firm innovation.After anti-corruption policies and regulations were issued, R&Dexpenditure in politically connected firms increases significantly;the anti-corruption initiative has positive effects on firm innovation.Further research shows that the effects vary with different types offirms. For state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the anti-corruptioninitiative only increases the R&D investments of firms with seniorexecutives who used to serve in the government;while for nonstate-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), this campaign has all-aroundpositive effects on their R&D investments. In the meantime, a heterogeneity at the provincial level is observed: R&D investments offirms with political connections increase more significantly in provinces with more intense anti-corruption efforts. Finally, marketisation also has a role to play. For regions with a more developedmarket economy, anti-corruption increases the innovation of firmswith political connections;whereas in regions with a less developed market economy, this effect is insignificant. This paper provides evidence for the opinion that anti-corruption is favourable toeconomic growth in China. To solve the endogeneity problem, ituses data obtained from the anti-corruption policy experimentsince the Eighteenth CPC National Congress and the difference-indifferences (DID) method to further test the hypotheses.