IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/chinae/v32y2024i3p31-66.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bureaucratic Culture and Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Shigang Li
  • Kexin She
  • Li Zhang

Abstract

This study explores the effects of bureaucratic culture on innovation. We define bureaucratic culture as a culture in which power and officials are held in the highest regard. Using panel data of publicly listed Chinese manufacturing firms from 2007 to 2015, we found that bureaucratic culture negatively correlated with firms' patent output. A mechanism analysis shows that bureaucratic culture hindered corporate innovation by reducing firms' research and development inputs and decreasing innovation efficiency. Furthermore, we provided evidence that anti‐corruption campaigns and the development of formal institutions could neutralize the negative impact of bureaucratic culture on corporate innovation. This study is the first to investigate quantitatively the causal effect of bureaucratic culture on corporate innovation and it can deepen the understanding of the relationship between culture and innovation in China. We speculate that promoting a creative culture, particularly one that fosters entrepreneurial spirit, is of utmost importance.

Suggested Citation

  • Shigang Li & Kexin She & Li Zhang, 2024. "Bureaucratic Culture and Innovation," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 32(3), pages 31-66, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:chinae:v:32:y:2024:i:3:p:31-66
    DOI: 10.1111/cwe.12531
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12531
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/cwe.12531?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. Nicholas Bloom & Raffaella Sadun, 2012. "The Organization of Firms Across Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 127(4), pages 1663-1705.
    2. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 526-556, June.
    3. Bronwyn Hall, 2004. "The financing of research and development," Chapters, in: Anthony Bartzokas & Sunil Mani (ed.), Financial Systems, Corporate Investment in Innovation, and Venture Capital, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2017. "National culture and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 173-187.
    5. Ting Chen & James Kai-sing Kung & Chicheng Ma, 2020. "Long Live Keju! The Persistent Effects of China’s Civil Examination System," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 130(631), pages 2030-2064.
    6. Lily H. Fang & Josh Lerner & Chaopeng Wu, 2017. "Intellectual Property Rights Protection, Ownership, and Innovation: Evidence from China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(7), pages 2446-2477.
    7. Guopei Fang & Holger Görg & Aoife Hanley & Haiou Mao, 2022. "Foreign Divestment – Crisis or Chance for China's Innovation Edge?," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(6), pages 1-33, November.
    8. Shang-Jin Wei, 2000. "How Taxing is Corruption on International Investors?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 82(1), pages 1-11, February.
    9. Hirshleifer, David & Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Li, Dongmei, 2013. "Innovative efficiency and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(3), pages 632-654.
    10. Klaus Abbink & Heike Hennig-Schmidt, 2006. "Neutral versus loaded instructions in a bribery experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 9(2), pages 103-121, June.
    11. Kevin M. Murphy & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1991. "The Allocation of Talent: Implications for Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 503-530.
    12. Shane, Scott, 1993. "Cultural influences on national rates of innovation," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 59-73, January.
    13. Yuriy Gorodnichenko & Gerard Roland, 2017. "Culture, Institutions, and the Wealth of Nations," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(3), pages 402-416, July.
    14. Anokhin, Sergey & Schulze, William S., 2009. "Entrepreneurship, innovation, and corruption," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 465-476, September.
    15. Alberto Alesina & Paola Giuliano, 2015. "Culture and Institutions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 53(4), pages 898-944, December.
    16. Hongbin Li & Li-An Zhou, 2003. "Political Turnover and Economic Performance: The Disciplinary Role of Personnel Control in China," Discussion Papers 00002, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Economics.
    17. Adhikari, Binay Kumar & Agrawal, Anup, 2016. "Religion, gambling attitudes and corporate innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 229-248.
    18. Chenggang Xu, 2011. "The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1076-1151, December.
    19. Wu, Guiying Laura, 2018. "Capital misallocation in China: Financial frictions or policy distortions?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 203-223.
    20. Yang Yao & Muyang Zhang, 2015. "Subnational leaders and economic growth: evidence from Chinese cities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 405-436, December.
    21. Du, Julan & Lu, Yi & Tao, Zhigang, 2008. "Economic institutions and FDI location choice: Evidence from US multinationals in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 412-429, September.
    22. Boubakri, Narjess & Chkir, Imed & Saadi, Samir & Zhu, Hui, 2021. "Does national culture affect corporate innovation? International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    23. Chen, Kaiji & Song, Zheng, 2013. "Financial frictions on capital allocation: A transmission mechanism of TFP fluctuations," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 683-703.
    24. Lin, Justin Yifu, 1995. "The Needham Puzzle: Why the Industrial Revolution Did Not Originate in China," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 43(2), pages 269-292, January.
    25. George Peng & Paul Beamish, 2014. "The effect of host country long term orientation on subsidiary ownership and survival," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 423-453, June.
    26. Li, Kai & Griffin, Dale & Yue, Heng & Zhao, Longkai, 2013. "How does culture influence corporate risk-taking?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 1-22.
    27. Castellani, Marco, 2019. "Does culture matter for the economic performance of countries? An overview of the literature," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 700-717.
    28. Chen, Yangyang & Dou, Paul Y. & Rhee, S. Ghon & Truong, Cameron & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2015. "National culture and corporate cash holdings around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-18.
    29. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Rhee, S. Ghon & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2014. "Local Gambling Preferences and Corporate Innovative Success," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(1), pages 77-106, February.
    30. Shane, Scott A., 1992. "Why do some societies invent more than others?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 29-46, January.
    31. Francesco Cinnirella & Jochen Streb, 2017. "The role of human capital and innovation in economic development: evidence from post-Malthusian Prussia," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 193-227, June.
    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. Li, Guoxing & Yeh, Yin-Hua, 2023. "Western cultural influence on corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    2. Chen, Yangyang & Podolski, Edward J. & Veeraraghavan, Madhu, 2017. "National culture and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 173-187.
    3. Wang, Xiaoyu & Long, Zhineng & Zhao, Xiangfang, 2024. "Merchant guild culture and cash holdings: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Pascal Gantenbein & Axel Kind & Christophe Volonté, 2019. "Individualism and Venture Capital: A Cross-Country Study," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 741-777, October.
    5. Buyukyazici, Duygu & Serti, Francesco, 2024. "Innovation attitudes and religiosity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(7).
    6. Bürker, Matthias & Franco, Chiara & Minerva, G. Alfredo, 2013. "Foreign ownership, firm performance, and the geography of civic capital," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 964-984.
    7. Brandon N. Cline & Claudia R. Williamson, 2020. "Trust, regulation, and contracting institutions," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(4), pages 859-895, September.
    8. Wei, Yueling & Kang, Di & Wang, Yizhong, 2019. "Geography, culture, and corporate innovation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 310-329.
    9. Lu, Weijie & Niu, Geng & Zhou, Yang, 2021. "Individualism and financial inclusion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 268-288.
    10. Assmann, Daisy & Ehrl, Philipp, 2021. "Individualistic culture and entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 1248-1268.
    11. Lina Mao & Chongluan Lu & Guangfan Sun & Chunyan Zhang & Changwei Guo, 2024. "Regional culture and corporate finance: a literature review," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    12. Gao, Lei & Han, Jianlei & Pan, Zheyao & Zhang, Huixuan, 2023. "Individualistic CEO and corporate innovation: Evidence from U.S. frontier culture," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    13. Jérémie Bertrand & Paul-Olivier Klein & Fotios Pasiouras, 2024. "National culture of secrecy and firms’ access to credit," Post-Print hal-04691594, HAL.
    14. Castellani, Marco, 2019. "Does culture matter for the economic performance of countries? An overview of the literature," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 700-717.
    15. Guo, Lan & Su, Zhong-qin & Xiao, Zuoping & Fung, Hung-Gay, 2024. "Alcohol culture and corporate risk-taking," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    16. Xu, Gang & Yano, Go, 2017. "How does anti-corruption affect corporate innovation? Evidence from recent anti-corruption efforts in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 498-519.
    17. Yang, Xingquan & Zhang, Kexin & Liao, Guanmin & Gao, Pengfei, 2024. "Administrative monopoly and state-owned enterprise innovation: Evidence from the fair competition review system in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    18. Kleinhempel, Johannes & Klasing, Mariko & Beugelsdijk, Sjoerd, 2022. "Cultural Roots of Entrepreneurship," MPRA Paper 115942, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Daniel L. Bennett & Boris Nikolaev, 2021. "Individualism, pro-market institutions, and national innovation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 2085-2106, December.
    20. Zuo, Jingjing & Huang, Changqing & Qiu, Baoyin & Mai, Ruidong, 2023. "The construction of social credit system and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

    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:chinae:v:32:y:2024:i:3:p:31-66. 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 Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iwepacn.html .

    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.