Enterprise financialization and technological innovation: Mechanism and heterogeneity

PLoS One. 2022 Dec 12;17(12):e0275461. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275461. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

After the 2008 financial crisis, under the double effects of enterprise value maximization and the decline of real economy marginal profit, the relationship between enterprise financialization and technological innovation is worth exploring in depth. On the basis of testing the impact of non-financial enterprise financialization on technological innovation, this paper explores the impact mechanism as well as the heterogeneity among different types of enterprises. This paper selects non-financial listed enterprises in China from 2007 to 2017 as samples to study the influence of enterprise financialization on technological innovation and its mechanism through panel regression and mediating effect models. Moreover, the heterogeneity among different types of enterprises is further studied. The main conclusions are as follows. First, the financialization of enterprises has a significant "crowding out" effect on technological innovation. Second, the "crowding out" effect of enterprise financialization on technological innovation is formed through capital structure rather than performance. Third, enterprises are faced with different attributes and external environment, thus the influence of financialization on technological innovation is heterogeneous. Fourth, there are significant differences in the impact of financialization on technological innovation between enterprises' attributes and the external environment they face, and the deviation degree caused by attributes is much greater than that caused by the external environment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Inventions*
  • Technology*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Social Science Fund, grant number 22BTJ053, awarded to YL; the Key Project of Education Department of Hunan Province, grant number 20A139, awarded to YL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.