|
|
|
| Confucian Tradition and Corporate Innovation: The Power of Culture |
| XU Xixiong, LI Wanli
|
| School of Economics and Business Administration, Chongqing University |
|
|
|
Abstract Innovation is an extensively researched topic in the fields of economics and management. The relevant literature investigates the key factors affecting corporate innovation from the perspectives of intellectual property protection (Moser, 2005; Wu and Tang, 2016), government subsidies (Gorg and Strobl, 2007; Zhang et al., 2018), corporate governance (Manso, 2011; Shi and Wang, 2017), financing constraints (Brown et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2017), and executive characteristics (Sunder et al., 2017). However, few studies have focused on the potential impact of implicit value norms, such as social culture, on the decision preferences of managers and their innovation strategy choices. Huntington and Harrison (2013) argue that culture is an important factor affecting society, politics, and the economy. The emerging literature on “culture and finance” shows that besides institutional and economic factors, informal institutional factors such as culture play a pivotal role in corporate decision-making (Li et al., 2013). Culture may play a critical role in shaping corporate decision-making in China in particular, as despite its less developed laws and institutions relative to those in developed countries, China has a long history and rich culture (Allen et al., 2005).
In Chinese society, Confucian culture is the most extensive and far-reaching informal institutional factor. As the core of Chinese traditional culture, Confucianism is the moral norm and an action guide generally respected by individuals and organizations (Ip, 2009). Du (2003) believes that Confucian culture not only has shaped the spirit of Chinese enterprises but also served as a spiritual pillar in the process of modernization, influencing all aspects of the social economy. Fu and Tsui (2003) argue that Confucianism is pervasive in the values of Chinese entrepreneurs and is reflected in corporate decision-making. This raises an important question: what impact does Confucian culture have on innovation within contemporary enterprises？
Using a sample of Chinese listed firms during the period 2007 to 2016, this paper systematically investigates the impact of Confucian culture on corporate innovation. We find that Confucianism is significantly positively associated with a firm's patent output, implying that Confucian culture has a significant promoting effect on corporate innovation. Channel analysis shows that Confucianism affects corporate innovation mainly by alleviating the corporate agency conflict, improving the level of human capital investment, and reducing the risk of patent infringement. Further, the positive effect of Confucianism on corporate innovation is more prominent for private enterprises and firms in areas with weaker intellectual property protection. Meanwhile, foreign cultural influence weakens the positive effect of Confucianism on corporate innovation. We also document that Confucianism helps improve the efficiency of patent technology transformation and thus enhances the marginal contribution of technological innovation to firm performance.
This paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, our study breaks through the traditional institutional theoretical framework and investigates the impact of Confucian culture on corporate innovation from the perspective of informal institutions. This not only deepens understanding of the cultural soil on which innovation depends but also enriches the literature on corporate innovation. Second, the literature on Confucian ethical values mainly focuses on the fields of philosophy and sociology and adopts normative research methods. This paper uses an empirical method to reveal the positive role of Confucian culture in promoting contemporary enterprise innovation. This expands the research paradigm and deepens theoretical understanding of the economic consequences of Confucian culture at the firm level. Third, current research on “culture and finance” mostly focuses on Western culture and uses cross-national samples to compare the impact of national cultural characteristics on corporate behavior. We apply a sample of Chinese listed firms to examine the impact of Confucianism on corporate innovation. This approach ensures that institutional differences between countries do not interfere with the empirical results, and it also contributes empirical evidence from an Eastern culture to extend the international literature on culture and finance. Finally, our study is the first to theoretically explain and provide empirical evidence for Confucianism's positive effect on corporate innovation. This corrects the passive cognitive bias toward Confucianism while also providing a theoretical basis and policy reference for giving full play to the positive role of Chinese traditional culture in achieving innovation-driven strategies and high-quality development goals.
|
|
Received: 05 September 2018
Published: 27 September 2019
|
|
|
|
|
| [1] |
蔡洪滨,2013,《等级观念扼杀创新力》,《哈佛商业评论》第5期,第218～227页。
|
| [2] |
陈冬华、胡晓莉、梁上坤和新夫,2013,《宗教传统与公司治理》,《经济研究》第9期,第71～84页。
|
| [3] |
陈志武,2007,《对儒家文化的金融学反思》,《制度经济学研究》第4期,第1～17页。
|
| [4] |
杜维明,2003,《儒家伦理与东亚企业精神》,中华书局。
|
| [5] |
杜维明,2013,《儒学第三期发展的前景》,北京大学出版社。
|
| [6] |
古志辉,2015,《全球化情境中的儒家伦理与代理成本》,《管理世界》第3期,第113～123页。
|
| [7] |
亨廷顿和哈里森,2013,《文化的重要作用:价值观如何影响人类进步》,新华出版社。
|
| [8] |
金智、徐慧和马永强,2017,《儒家文化与公司风险承担》,《世界经济》第11期,第170～192页。
|
| [9] |
孔东民、徐茗丽和孔高文,2017,《企业内部薪酬差距与创新》,《经济研究》第10期,第144～157页。
|
| [10] |
李金波和聂辉华,2011,《儒家孝道、经济增长与文明分岔》,《中国社会科学》第6期,第41～55页。
|
| [11] |
李姝、翟士运和古朴,2018,《非控股股东参与决策的积极性与企业技术创新》,《中国工业经济》第7期,第157～175页。
|
| [12] |
李文贵和余明桂,2015,《民营化企业的股权结构与企业创新》,《管理世界》第4期,第112～125页。
|
| [13] |
黎文靖和郑曼妮,2016,《实质性创新还是策略性创新？——宏观产业政策对微观企业创新的影响》,《经济研究》第4期,第60～73页。
|
| [14] |
刘俏,《激活高质量发展的“微观基础”》,人民日报,2018年1月4日。
|
| [15] |
诺思,2008,《制度、制度变迁与经济绩效》,上海三联书店。
|
| [16] |
潘越、肖金利和戴亦一,2017,《文化多样性与企业创新:基于方言视角的研究》,《金融研究》第10期,第146～161页。
|
| [17] |
石晓军和王骜然,2017,《独特公司治理机制对企业创新的影响——来自互联网公司双层股权制的全球证据》,《经济研究》第1期,第149～164页。
|
| [18] |
王庆娟和张金成,2012,《工作场所的儒家传统价值观:理论、测量与效度检验》,《南开管理评论》第4期,第66～79页。
|
| [19] |
吴超鹏和唐菂,2016,《知识产权保护执法力度、技术创新与企业绩效——来自中国上市公司的证据》,《经济研究》第11期,第125～139页。
|
| [20] |
吴延兵和刘霞辉,2009,《人力资本与研发行为——基于民营企业调研数据的分析》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期,第376～399页。
|
| [21] |
章元、程郁和佘国满,2018,《政府补贴能否促进高新技术企业的自主创新？——来自中关村的证据》,《金融研究》第10期,第123～140页。
|
| [22] |
张维迎,2013,《制度企业家与儒家社会规范》,《北京大学学报(哲学社会科学版)》第1期,16～35页。
|
| [23] |
张璇、刘贝贝、汪婷和李春涛,2017,《信贷寻租、融资约束与企业创新》,《经济研究》第5期,第161～174页。
|
| [24] |
Allen, F., J. Qian, and M. Qian. 2005. “Law, Finance, and Economic Growth in China,” Journal of Financial Economics, 77(1):57-116.
|
| [25] |
Balsmeier, B., L. Fleming, and G. Manso. 2017, “Independent Boards and Innovation,” Journal of Financial Economics, 123(3):536～557.
|
| [26] |
Chen, Y., E. J. Podolski, and M. Veeraraghavan. 2017. “National Culture and Corporate Innovation,” Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 43∶173-187.
|
| [27] |
Fu, P. P., and A. S. Tsui. 2003. “Utilizing Printed Media to Understand Desired Leadership Attributes in the People's Republic of China,” Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 20(4): 423～446.
|
| [28] |
Gorg, H., and E. Strobl. 2007. “The Effect of R&D Subsidies on Private R&D,” Econometrica, 74: 215～234.
|
| [29] |
Ip, P. K. 2009. “Is Confucianism Good for Business Ethics in China？” Journal of Business Ethics, 88(3): 463～476.
|
| [30] |
Jensen, M., and W. Meckling. 1976. “The Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure,” Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4): 305～360.
|
| [31] |
Li, K., D. Griffin, H. Yue, and L. Zhao. 2013. “How does Culture Influence Corporate Risk-Taking？” Journal of Corporate Finance, 23(4): 1～22.
|
| [32] |
Manso, G. 2011. “Motivating Innovation,” Journal of Finance, 66(5): 1823～1860.
|
| [33] |
Moser, P. 2005. “How do Patent Laws Influence Innovation？” American Economic Review, 95(4):1214～1236.
|
| [34] |
Sunder, J., S. V. Sunder, and J. Zhang. (2017). “Pilot CEOs and Corporate Innovation,” Journal of Financial Economics, 123(1), 209～224.
|
|
|
|
