Haizhi Wang, Desheng Yin, Xiaotian Tina Zhang and Xinting Zhen
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate universal banks as an important source of external funding and their effects on borrowing firms’ innovation outputs.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate universal banks as an important source of external funding and their effects on borrowing firms’ innovation outputs.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employ regression analyses including a difference-in-difference approach and a two-sided matching method to ensure the robustness of the findings. The authors further explore some potential channels and boundary conditions for the main findings.
Findings
The authors find that borrowing from universal banks is negatively associated with the quantity of firm innovation, but not the quality of firm innovation. The authors document that borrowing firms reduce their R&D expenditures and rely more on external partners to produce innovation outputs after loan originations from universal banks. The negative relation between universal bank lending and the quantity of firm innovation is more prominent for unrelated innovation and for financially constrained firms.
Research limitations/implications
The evidence reveals that universal banks may use their informational advantage and market power to limit their corporate borrowers’ investment in innovation activities.
Originality/value
The paper extends the line of research on the source of financing and firm innovation, and establishes a robust relationship between capital market and product market.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the impact of government subsidies for the digital economy on corporate innovation. It aims to determine whether these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the impact of government subsidies for the digital economy on corporate innovation. It aims to determine whether these subsidies promote innovation, and to examine the specific ways in which they inspire corporate innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study selects Chinese A-share listed companies during the period from 2007 to 2019 as the research object. It employs panel data to empirically examine the impact of government subsidies in the digital economy on corporate innovation.
Findings
The findings reveal that government subsidies for the digital economy effectively promote corporate innovation. They significantly increase the number and share of invention patents and improve the quality of corporate innovation. Moreover, it is noted that the positive impact is largely confined to non-state-owned enterprises, small firms and those in highly competitive markets.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper lies in focusing on government subsidies in the digital economy, which is distinct from the general government subsidies in a broad sense.
Details
Keywords
Binh Tan Mai, Phuong V. Nguyen, Uyen Nu Hoang Ton and Zafar U. Ahmed
COVID-19 has made businesses increasingly dependent on technology to be competitive and efficient. Small and medium enterprises (SME) digitalisation and innovation research are…
Abstract
Purpose
COVID-19 has made businesses increasingly dependent on technology to be competitive and efficient. Small and medium enterprises (SME) digitalisation and innovation research are widespread. SME digital transformation and innovation require government policies, initiatives and assistance. How the government can help SMEs achieve these goals is unclear. So, this paper aims to investigate how government policy may assist Vietnamese SMEs to boost innovation performance and digital transformation.
Design/methodology/approach
The study will take a quantitative approach, with questionnaires distributed to 659 respondents from SMEs in Vietnam through snowball and convenience sampling procedures. The structural equational modelling method is used for data analysis.
Findings
The study indicated that government policies supported Vietnamese SMEs’ innovation and information technology (IT) capabilities. Government policy assistance also boosted IT capabilities and innovation. Furthermore, mediation effects show that digital transformation fully mediates the relationship between innovativeness and firm performance, whereas IT capabilities partially mediate this relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Further research that replicates the findings and analyses contextual heterogeneities between nations is advised because Vietnam’s pandemic setting was both similar and dissimilar.
Practical implications
The study demonstrated government-company interactions through supportive policy. It investigated whether SMEs seeking digital transformation and innovativeness might gain competitive benefits by implementing effective knowledge management and enhancing their IT capabilities.
Originality/value
A resource-based theoretical framework is extended to study how innovation, public policy and digital transformation for SMEs interact. The study confirms government policy strongly influences enterprises’ digital development. Specifically, the new mediating effects of IT capabilities and digital transformation are explored and provide new insights into the existing literature.