IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ajecsc/v83y2024i3p527-554.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Alien merchant chambers and enterprise innovation: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Ran Zhou
  • Yali Zhao

Abstract

Based on social capital theory, this paper aims to investigate the impact of member enterprises of alien merchant chambers on enterprise innovation, within A‐share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges of China from 2010 to 2020. Additionally, the study seeks to explore the role played by social capital resulting from participation in these alien merchant chambers. Furthermore, we delve into the moderating effects of the number of alien merchant chambers and the degree of marketization in the enterprise's location. Moreover, we analyze the influence of heterogeneity in firm ownership and firm type. Our findings reveal that member enterprises of alien merchant chambers can increase their social capital and consequently promoting innovation; both the quantity of alien merchant chambers and the level of marketization in an enterprise's location positively influence this enhancement. Furthermore, the impact of state‐owned enterprises and non‐high‐tech enterprises on enterprise innovation, following their engagement with alien merchant chambers, surpasses that of non‐state‐owned enterprises and high‐tech enterprises. This research bridges the gap in understanding the corporate governance implications of alien merchant chambers, provides empirical evidence concerning Chinese alien merchant chambers, and addresses inquiries regarding the influence of merchant chambers' social capital. Additionally, it proposes a novel approach for listed companies to overcome resource constraints and to collaboratively pursue development, especially in light of the challenges posed by the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Ran Zhou & Yali Zhao, 2024. "Alien merchant chambers and enterprise innovation: Evidence from China," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(3), pages 527-554, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:83:y:2024:i:3:p:527-554
    DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12559
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12559
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/ajes.12559?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Holmstrom, Bengt, 1989. "Agency costs and innovation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 305-327, December.
    2. Frank Rijnsoever & Leon Welle & Sjoerd Bakker, 2014. "Credibility and legitimacy in policy-driven innovation networks: resource dependencies and expectations in Dutch electric vehicle subsidies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 635-661, August.
    3. Se-Yeon Ahn & So-Hyung Kim, 2017. "What Makes Firms Innovative? The Role of Social Capital in Corporate Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Mahfuz Chy & Ole-Kristian Hope, 2021. "Real effects of auditor conservatism," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 730-771, June.
    5. Gupta, Atul & Raman, Kartik & Shang, Chenguang, 2020. "Do Informal Contracts Matter for Corporate Innovation? Evidence from Social Capital," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(5), pages 1657-1684, August.
    6. Michael Abebe & Phyu Phyu Aung Myint, 2018. "Board Characteristics And The Likelihood Of Business Model Innovation Adoption: Evidence From The Smart Home Industry," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(01), pages 1-28, January.
    7. David Hirshleifer, 1993. "Managerial Reputation and Corporate Investment Decisions," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 22(2), Summer.
    8. Dessí, Roberta & Piccolo, Salvatore, 2016. "Merchant guilds, taxation and social capital," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 90-110.
    9. Morten T. Hansen, 2002. "Knowledge Networks: Explaining Effective Knowledge Sharing in Multiunit Companies," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(3), pages 232-248, June.
    10. Yujuan Zhang & Lu Zhang, 2022. "Innovation Input on Enterprise Value: Based on the Moderating Effect of Ownership Structure," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(4), pages 1078-1088, March.
    11. Roberta Dessí & Sheilagh Olgivie, 2003. "Social Capital and Collusion: The Case of Merchant Guilds," CESifo Working Paper Series 1037, CESifo.
    12. Holmström, Bengt, 1989. "Agency Costs and Innovation," Working Paper Series 214, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    13. Yuan Li & Haowen Chen & Yi Liu & Mike Peng, 2014. "Managerial ties, organizational learning, and opportunity capture: A social capital perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 271-291, March.
    14. Chengli Shu & Mengli Zhao & Jinxin Liu & Wendy Lindsay, 2020. "Why firms go green and how green impacts financial and innovation performance differently: An awareness-motivation-capability perspective," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 795-821, September.
    15. Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2014. "Financial development and innovation: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 116-135.
    16. Jing Cai & Adam Szeidl, 2018. "Interfirm Relationships and Business Performance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1229-1282.
    17. Denise Fischer & Jacqueline Prasuhn & Steffen Strese & Malte Brettel, 2021. "The Role Of Social Media For Radical Innovation In The New Digital Age," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 25(07), pages 1-41, September.
    18. Joel Mokyr, 2009. "Intellectual Property Rights, the Industrial Revolution, and the Beginnings of Modern Economic Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(2), pages 349-355, May.
    19. Belenzon, Sharon & Patacconi, Andrea, 2013. "Innovation and firm value: An investigation of the changing role of patents, 1985–2007," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1496-1510.
    20. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    21. Otto Toivanen & Paul Stoneman & Derek Bosworth, 2002. "Innovation and the Market Value of UK Firms, 1989–1995," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 64(1), pages 39-61, February.
    22. Chen Lin & Yue Ma & Dongwei Su, 2009. "Corporate governance and firm efficiency: evidence from China's publicly listed firms," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(3), pages 193-209.
    23. Christopher Boudreaux & George Clarke & Anand Jha, 2022. "Social capital and small informal business productivity: the mediating roles of financing and customer relationships," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 955-976, October.
    24. Chen, Tao & Xie, Lingmin & Zhang, Yuanyuan, 2017. "How does analysts' forecast quality relate to corporate investment efficiency?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 217-240.
    25. Sean Yim & Brett Josephson & Jean Johnson & Sanjay Sisodiya, 2015. "Interfirm Relational Strategies and Innovation: the Role of Interfirm Relational Traits and Firm Resources," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 2(3), pages 230-244, September.
    26. Xiu, Zongfeng & Liu, Ran & Feng, Pengshuo & Yin, Jingwei, 2023. "Does social culture matter for firms' access to trade credit? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    27. Christodoulou, Demetris & Lev, Baruch & Ma, Le, 2018. "The productivity of Chinese patents: The role of business area and ownership type," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 107-124.
    28. Bo Sun & Ao Ruan & Biyu Peng & Shanshi Liu, 2022. "Pay disparities within top management teams, marketization and firms’ innovation: evidence from China," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 715-735, October.
    29. Hou, Fei & Li, Meina & Xu, Yang & Zhou, Song, 2023. "Signing auditors’ cultural background and client investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    30. Chang, Hsiu-yun & Liang, Woan-lih & Wang, Yanzhi, 2019. "Do institutional investors still encourage patent-based innovation after the tech bubble period?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 149-164.
    31. Eisdorfer, Assaf & Giaccotto, Carmelo & White, Reilly, 2013. "Capital structure, executive compensation, and investment efficiency," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 549-562.
    32. Greif, Avner & Milgrom, Paul & Weingast, Barry R, 1994. "Coordination, Commitment, and Enforcement: The Case of the Merchant Guild," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(4), pages 745-776, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Z. Jun Lin & Shengqiang Liu & Fangcheng Sun, 2017. "The Impact of Financing Constraints and Agency Costs on Corporate R&D Investment: Evidence from China," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 17(1), pages 3-42, March.
    2. Liu, Duan & Zhou, Qianzhen & Chen, Shiqi & Wan, Hong & He, Hongbo, 2021. "Capital market access and innovation efficiency: A natural experiment from China’s pilot VAT reform in 2012," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 549-566.
    3. Ning, Shuying & Lin, Zhiyang, 2023. "Effect of accounting information manipulation on innovation: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    4. Zhong, Rong (Irene), 2018. "Transparency and firm innovation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 67-93.
    5. Chen, Sheng-Syan & Kao, Wei-Chuan & Wang, Yanzhi, 2021. "Tax policy and innovation performance: Evidence from enactment of the alternative simplified credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Huang, Yi-Hou & Liang, Woan-lih & Truong, Quang-Thai & Wang, Yanzhi, 2022. "No new tricks for old dogs? Old directors and innovation performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    7. Chen Lin & Sibo Liu & Gustavo Manso, 2021. "Shareholder Litigation and Corporate Innovation," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(6), pages 3346-3367, June.
    8. Dong, Xiao & Yu, Mingzhe, 2023. "Does FinTech development facilitate firms' innovation? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Su, Jing & Jiang, Jiaoliang & Zhang, Bingbing & Cao, Lijuan, 2023. "Industry salary gap incentive and enterprise innovation," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Lai, Shaojie & Yang, Laifeng & Wang, Qing & Anderson, Hamish D., 2023. "Judicial independence and corporate innovation: Evidence from the establishment of circuit courts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    11. Sixiao Xu, 2018. "Hedge Fund Activism and Corporate Life Stage: Case Studies of High-technology Companies," Journal of Business, LAR Center Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-12, January.
    12. Hassan, M. Kabir & Houston, Reza & Karim, M. Sydul, 2021. "Courting innovation: The effects of litigation risk on corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    13. El Ghoul, Sadok & Gong, Zhaoran (Jason) & Guedhami, Omrane & Hou, Fangfang & Tong, Wilson H.S., 2023. "Social trust and firm innovation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    14. Nian Li & Chunling Li & Runsen Yuan & Muhammad Asif Khan & Xiaoran Sun & Nosherwan Khaliq, 2021. "Investor Attention and Corporate Innovation Performance: Evidence from Web Search Volume Index of Chinese Listed Companies," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-23, April.
    15. Ding, Xiaoya (Sara) & Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Niu, Geng, 2023. "Social trust and firm innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 474-493.
    16. Yuan, Li & Rao, Siqi & Yang, Shenggang & Dai, Pengyi, 2023. "Does equity market openness increase productivity? the dual effects of Shanghai-Hong Kong stock Connect program in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. Sheikh, Shahbaz, 2018. "The impact of market competition on the relation between CEO power and firm innovation," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 36-50.
    18. Yousaf, Umair Bin & Ullah, Irfan & Jiang, Junchen & Wang, Man, 2022. "The role of board capital in driving green innovation: Evidence from China," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    19. Hou, Qingsong & Hu, May & Yuan, Yuan, 2017. "Corporate innovation and political connections in Chinese listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA), pages 158-176.
    20. Çağatay Bircan & Ralph De Haas, 2020. "The Limits of Lending? Banks and Technology Adoption across Russia," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 536-609.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:83:y:2024:i:3:p:527-554. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley-Blackwell Digital Licensing or Christopher F. Baum (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0002-9246 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.