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Searching in the regulatory environment: The impact of regulatory search on firm innovativeness

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  • Lu Jiao
  • Kevin Baird
  • Graeme Harrison

Abstract

This article examines the effect of regulatory search on firm innovativeness using survey data from Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Australian listed and private firms. We used a self-developed scale to measure regulatory search, which consists of both reactive and proactive regulatory search. The results show that only reactive regulatory search exhibits a positive and direct association with firm innovativeness. However, the results suggest that slack moderates the relations between the two regulatory search factors and innovativeness in different ways. Specifically, under a high (low) slack environment, reactive regulatory search is negatively (positively) related to innovativeness, while, under a high (low) slack environment, proactive regulatory search is positively (negatively) related to innovativeness. JEL Classification: L51, O31

Suggested Citation

  • Lu Jiao & Kevin Baird & Graeme Harrison, 2020. "Searching in the regulatory environment: The impact of regulatory search on firm innovativeness," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 45(1), pages 153-171, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:45:y:2020:i:1:p:153-171
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896219857458
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovativeness; proactive search; reactive search; regulatory search; slack;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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