IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v97y2025ics1059056024008098.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How to enhance the innovation capacity of technology-based enterprises: A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Zheng, Yunjian
  • Lin, Chen
  • Yan, Jiale
  • Guo, Yani

Abstract

Geopolitical conflicts and trade wars bring many challenges to the growth of Chinese technology-based enterprises. Against this background, explore how to improve the innovation capacity of technology-based enterprises is conducive to promoting economic development. This paper selects 97 A-share listed technology-based enterprises from 2019 to 2022 as the research subjects. The paper further adopts the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method (fsQCA) to examine the path of improving the innovation capacity of technology-based enterprises in different resource endowment regions in China. The findings of this paper are as follows. First, no single factor can serve as a necessary condition for improving regional technology-based enterprises' innovation abilities. Second, three paths, namely " government + talent" driven, "technology + talent" driven, and "finance + talent" driven, are formed by five conditions related to technology and talent levels to foster such improvement. Third, human capital constitutes a fundamental prerequisite for enhancing the innovation capacity of regional technology-based enterprises. Exclusive reliance on government subsidy fails to foster such improvement in the absence of supportive policies about technology and talent. Based on the findings of this paper, we propose relevant policy recommendations for improving the innovation capacity of technology-based enterprises.

Suggested Citation

  • Zheng, Yunjian & Lin, Chen & Yan, Jiale & Guo, Yani, 2025. "How to enhance the innovation capacity of technology-based enterprises: A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:97:y:2025:i:c:s1059056024008098
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2024.103817
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056024008098
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2024.103817?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fan, Di & Li, Yi & Chen, Liang, 2017. "Configuring innovative societies: The crossvergent role of cultural and institutional varieties," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 66, pages 43-56.
    2. Battistella, Cinzia & Ferraro, Giovanna & Pessot, Elena, 2023. "Technology transfer services impacts on open innovation capabilities of SMEs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Junguang Gao & Thomas Schøtt & Xuewei Sun & Ye Liu, 2019. "Heterogeneous Effects of Business Collaboration on Innovation in Small Enterprises: China Compared to Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Thailand," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 795-808, March.
    4. Wen, Huwei & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Zhou, Fengxiu, 2022. "How does fiscal policy uncertainty affect corporate innovation investment? Evidence from China's new energy industry," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    5. Wang, Juxian & Ma, Mengdi & Dong, Tianyi & Zhang, Zheyuan, 2023. "Do ESG ratings promote corporate green innovation? A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    6. DaEun Kim & Sungchan Yeom & Myeong Chul Ko, 2020. "The Interactive Effect of Government Financial Support and Firms’ Innovative Efforts on Company Growth: A Focus on Climate-Tech SMEs in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-12, November.
    7. Wang, Nan & Wan, Jiahao & Ma, Zhenzhong & Zhou, Yan & Chen, Jin, 2023. "How digital platform capabilities improve sustainable innovation performance of firms: The mediating role of open innovation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    8. Xu Dong & Wensi Fu & Yali Yang & Chenguang Liu & Guizhi Xue, 2022. "Study on the Evaluation of Green Technology Innovation Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors in the Central Plains City Cluster of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, September.
    9. Hongyang Wang & Baizhou Li, 2023. "Research on the Synergic Influences of Digital Capabilities and Technological Capabilities on Digital Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, February.
    10. Caliendo, Marco & Künn, Steffen & Weissenberger, Martin, 2020. "Catching up or lagging behind? The long-term business and innovation potential of subsidized start-ups out of unemployment," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(10).
    11. Dong, Xiao & Yu, Mingzhe, 2023. "Does FinTech development facilitate firms' innovation? Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    12. Song, Yang & Pang, Xiaoqian & Zhang, Zhiyuan & Sahut, Jean-Michel, 2024. "Can the new energy demonstration city policy promote corporate green innovation capability?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    13. Runhua Wang & Jay P. Kesan, 2022. "Do tax policies drive innovation by SMEs in China?," Journal of Small Business Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(2), pages 309-346, March.
    14. Yiling Chen & Guanju Chen, 2022. "Effectiveness of industrial policy in supporting innovation: the role of internal and external corporate governance mechanism," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(19), pages 2181-2193, April.
    15. Zhang, Yin & Peng, Hongxing & Liu, Tingli & Xie, Kehuang, 2024. "Corporate innovation and analysts’ estimates of the cost of equity: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 83-101.
    16. Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Zhao, Shikuan & Goodell, John W. & Liu, Xiaoqian, 2024. "Digital economy policy and corporate low-carbon innovation: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    17. repec:taf:emfitr:v:55:y:2019:i:4:p:795-808 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Kumar, Satish & Sahoo, Saumyaranjan & Lim, Weng Marc & Kraus, Sascha & Bamel, Umesh, 2022. "Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in business and management research: A contemporary overview," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    19. Mukherjee, Abhiroop & Singh, Manpreet & Žaldokas, Alminas, 2017. "Do corporate taxes hinder innovation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 195-221.
    20. Jiang, Zihao & Liu, Zhiying, 2022. "Policies and exploitative and exploratory innovations of the wind power industry in China: The role of technological path dependence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    21. Yanyang Yan & Juan Wang & Sijia Qiao, 2022. "Effects of Industrial Policy on Firms’ Innovation Outputs: Evidence From China," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    22. Nan Wang & Mingdi Xiao & Ivan Savin, 2021. "Complementarity effect in the innovation strategy: internal R&D and acquisition of capital with embodied technology," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 459-482, April.
    23. Leckel, Anja & Veilleux, Sophie & Dana, Leo Paul, 2020. "Local Open Innovation: A means for public policy to increase collaboration for innovation in SMEs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    24. Souitaris, Vangelis, 2002. "Technological trajectories as moderators of firm-level determinants of innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 877-898, August.
    25. Pappas, Ilias O. & Woodside, Arch G., 2021. "Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA): Guidelines for research practice in Information Systems and marketing," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    26. Eghbali, Mohammad-Ali & Rasti-Barzoki, Morteza & Altmann, Jörn, 2024. "An evolutionary game-theoretic approach to analysis the green innovation chain dynamics under government policies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    27. Gangopadhyay, Shubhashis & Homroy, Swarnodeep, 2023. "Do social policies foster innovation? Evidence from India's CSR regulation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    28. Wu, Linfei & Sun, Liwen & Chang, Qing & Zhang, Die & Qi, Peixiao, 2022. "How do digitalization capabilities enable open innovation in manufacturing enterprises? A multiple case study based on resource integration perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    29. Wagemann, Claudius & Buche, Jonas & Siewert, Markus B., 2016. "QCA and business research: Work in progress or a consolidated agenda?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 2531-2540.
    30. Shuhao Liang & Tingting Li, 2022. "Can Digital Transformation Promote Innovation Performance in Manufacturing Enterprises? The Mediating Role of R&D Capability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, September.
    31. Barbara Vis & Jan Dul, 2018. "Analyzing Relationships of Necessity Not Just in Kind But Also in Degree," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 47(4), pages 872-899, November.
    32. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco & Palma, Alessandro, 2017. "Characterizing the policy mix and its impact on eco-innovation: A patent analysis of energy-efficient technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 799-819.
    33. Doh, Soogwan & Kim, Byungkyu, 2014. "Government support for SME innovations in the regional industries: The case of government financial support program in South Korea," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9), pages 1557-1569.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wu, Jianan & Guo, Cheng & Liu, Xiaojing & Dai, Jiapeng, 2025. "Policy-driven employment structure transformation: The role of innovation and education investment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. He, Feng & Chen, Longxuan & Wu, Haomin, 2024. "Competitive imitation and corporate innovation in private enterprises," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    3. Li, Ye & Lu, Honghong & Sun, Minxian, 2025. "Fulfillment of environmental responsibility, targeted reduction of inclusive finance and corporate NPD innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. Zhang, Yamin & Ding, Zihan & Liu, Zhaoxi, 2025. "Impacts of human resource attention and financial agglomeration on regional innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Shen, Haomin & Gao, Yuan & Cheng, Xiaoke & Wang, Qi, 2024. "The impact of the U.S. export controls on Chinese firms' innovation: Evidence from Chinese high-tech firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PC).
    6. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chih-Wei & Liu, Fengyun, 2024. "Does green credit promote the performance of new energy companies and how? The role of R&D investment and financial development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    7. Yang, Xingquan & Li, Feng & Liu, Ying, 2024. "Industry and regional peer effects on company innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    8. Gao, Hongli & Wang, Peijie & Yi, Hongyu & Lv, Chen, 2025. "Crowding out or Lock-in? Patent thickets and latecomers’ Innovation policies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Lian, Hanyu, 2024. "Financial leasing and enterprise innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    10. Ma, Chenxin & Ji, Xiang, 2024. "R&D globalization and enterprise innovation capability," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    11. Di Paola, Nadia & Chari, Simos & Iannacci, Federico & Kraus, Sascha, 2025. "Configurational theory in business and management research: Status quo and guidelines for the application of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    12. He, Yiqi & Li, Zhihui & Wang, Xinyue & Chen, Xi, 2025. "Government investment, human capital flow, and urban innovation: Evidence from smart city construction in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. Xue, Biao & Lin, Yan & Ren, Fangxiao & Li, Runfo, 2024. "Business environment ecosystem and manufacturing upgrading: A configurational approach," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1225-1237.
    14. Xu, Kunliang & Shao, Yanmin & Hu, Yiwen, 2025. "Responding to perceived environmental policy uncertainty with green technological innovation engagement: Evidence from a text-based measure," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    15. Alshehri, Abdullah, 2025. "When the recipe is more important than the ingredients, understanding factors affecting customer loyalty in unmanned convenience store using fsQCA," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    16. Beynon, Malcolm & Pickernell, David & Battisti, Martina & Jones, Paul, 2024. "A panel fsQCA investigation on European regional innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    17. Basit Shoaib Abdul & Kuhn Thomas & Ahmed Mumtaz, 2018. "The Effect of Government Subsidy on Non-Technological Innovation and Firm Performance in the Service Sector: Evidence from Germany," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 118-137, March.
    18. Gonçalves, Tiago & Muñoz-Pascual, Lucía & Galende, Jesús & Oliveira, Mirian & Curado, Carla, 2025. "Techno-social systems and conservation of resources theory for workplace happiness: Evidence of linear and non-linear influences in healthcare," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    19. Hong, Jin & Feng, Bing & Wu, Yanrui & Wang, Liangbing, 2016. "Do government grants promote innovation efficiency in China's high-tech industries?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 57, pages 4-13.
    20. Marie Romuald Pouka Pouka & Viviane Ondoua Biwolé, 2024. "Does causal analysis improve the understanding of entrepreneurial support for SME performance?," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:97:y:2025:i:c:s1059056024008098. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.