Benefiting from Social Groups: Managerial Network Communities and Corporate Collaborative Innovation

This study examines the influence of managerial network communities (MNCs) on corporate collaborative innovation. Based on the sample of Chinese A-share listed firms, we demonstrate that embedding in dense MNCs benefits corporate collaborative innovation. This is associated with the information and knowledge exchange and trust establishment. Moreover, firms with managers occupying a position more at the core of MNCs benefit more than firms with peripheral members. In regions with high intellectual property rights protection, firms are more inclined to engage in collaborative innovation through MNCs. Mechanism tests show that cross-regional collaborative innovations benefit more from MNCs, and MNCs’ positive effect on collaborative innovation is more outspoken in regions characterized by low social trust. Our findings enrich the understanding of the managers’ social network from the meso-level network community perspective and provide managerial guidelines for more fully releasing MNCs’ positive role in facilitating corporate collaborative innovation.