How does Joining a Large Enterprise's Supply Chain Network Affect the Innovation of SMEs?
Stimulating the innovative vitality of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)is crucial for driving China's economic transformation and upgrading,and promoting the innovation integration among large,medium,and small enterprises is beneficial for driving innovation and upgrading across the entire industrial and supply chains.Based on knowledge spillover theory and transaction cost theory,this paper provides a theoretical explanation for the relationship between joining the supply chain network of large enterprises and SME innovation.Using panel data from A-share listed companies in China from 2014 to 2022,it constructs a fixed effects model to empirically examine the extent to which joining the supply chain network of large enterprises influences SME innovation and its mechanism.The findings indicate that,overall,joining the supply chain network of large enterprises can enhance the innovation level of SMEs.This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests.Additionally,the innovation spillover effects of large enterprises along the supply chain are sustainable.Mechanism analysis reveals that the innovation spillover effects of large enterprises on SMEs along the supply chain primarily occurby promoting digital transformation,increasing innovation investment,and alleviating financing constraints.First,the siphoning effect of joining the supply chain network of large enterprises on SMEs'digital transformation outweighs the diffusion effect,resulting in a positive net effect on SMEs'digital transformation.Second,joining the supply chain network of large enterprises increases SMEs'investment in technical personnel,benefiting their internal research and development activities without causing significant technical or resource dependency on large enterprises.Furthermore,joining the supply chain network of large enterprises provides SMEs with stable orders and continuous financial resources,and facilitates recognition and investment from markets and financial institutions,thereby alleviating financing constraints and exerting a deleveraging effect.Further analysis identifies a nonlinear impact of joining the supply chain network of large enterprises on SME innovation.Specifically,SMEs with larger employee sizes benefit more from the integration of large,medium,and small enterprises.Additionally,the innovation spillover effects from large enterprises exhibit a pattern of increasing and then decreasing for SMEs at different levels of innovation output and have a greater impact on export-oriented SMEs and SMEs with a high absorptive capacity.The findings extend the literature on the determinants of SME innovation and the innovation spillover effects of large enterprises from the perspective of industrial and supply chains,providing a basis for the innovation integration among large,medium,and small enterprises and offering insights for implementing the innovation-driven development strategy.
small and medium-sized enterprisessupply chain networkenterprise innovationnonlinear effectdigital transformation
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