Digital transformation is not only one of the important internal driving forces for enterprises to maintain competitive advantage, but also one of the singificant driving forces for empowering the innovation networks. Based on the patents and citation data of listed companies from 2007 to 2022, the impact of digital transformation on downstream enterprise innovation through the spillover effect of innovation chain was examined. The results show that digital transformation significantly promotes the innovation level of downstream enterprises. Moreover, in the samples of state-owned enterprises and regions with low levels of intellectual property protection, the impact of digital transformation on the innovation of downstream enterprises is greater. Mechanism analysis shows that the knowledge spillover effect is an important mechanism for digital transformation to promote the downstream enterprise innovation. Further analysis shows that digital transformation in different dimensions has different impacts on the innovation of downstream enterprises. Among them, digital transformation in the technology and platform has a more significant impact on the downstream enterprise innovation, and digital transformation also has a positive impact on the innovation efficiency, innovation quality and total factor productivity of downstream enterprises. These conclusions enrich the relevant research on enterprise digital transformation, and provide important practical references for enterprises to actively integrate into the innovation network.

In the highly volatile and uncertain VUCA environment, the “ maintaining stability and promoting innovation” effect of government procurement for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has become increasingly apparent. A sample of enterprises listed on the New Third Board from 2017 to 2022 was utilized. The mechanism of government procurement on SMEs’ innovation was explored from the perspective of internal and external cooperation networks. The results find that the more government procurement orders SMEs receive, the higher their innovation level. The mechanism test indicates that government procurement incentivizes SMEs to innovate mainly by stabilizing the firm’s external supply chain trading relationships and by stabilizing the firm’s internal development expectations. In addition, government procurement has a stronger innovation incentive effect on high-tech SMEs, SMEs with high industry competitiveness, and private SMEs. Government innovative procurement has a more significant innovation incentive effect on SMEs than conventional procurement. New evidence confirms that government procurement contributes to stability maintenance and innovation promotion, while offering theoretical support for policies designed to mitigate SME development instability.

Amid increasingly intense global technological competition, the importance of breakthrough technological innovation for China’s long-term competitive advantage and industrial transformation has been emphasized. How to promote such innovation through artificial intelligence (AI) in the digital era has become a key strategic issue for enterprises. Based on socio-technical system theory and dynamic capability theory, a theoretical model of “AI capability-knowledge dynamic capability-breakthrough technological innovation” was developed to examine the internal mechanisms. Questionnaire data were collected from 312 enterprises to conduct empirical analysis. The findings indicate that AI capability significantly promotes breakthrough technological innovation. Knowledge dynamic capability plays a mediating role, especially in the dimensions of knowledge creation and knowledge integration, where strong positive effects were observed. Furthermore, a data-driven culture serves as a moderating factor, strengthening the influence of AI capability on breakthrough innovation. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of how breakthrough technological innovation can be achieved in the digital era through AI.

With the rise of the post-Schumpeterian innovation paradigm, manufacturer-user (MU) collaborative innovation has become a crucial means of promoting technological innovation and achievement transformation. A theoretical framework for MU collaborative innovation was constructed by reviewing the theoretical underpinnings of MU collaborative innovation and clarifying the distinctions between MU collaborative innovation and single-subject innovation. A theoretical framework encompassing roles, modes, processes, mechanisms, and commercialization of MU collaborative innovation was proposed. MU collaborative roles and modes are identified as drivers of the MU collaborative innovation process, with manufacturers and users taking on different roles and utilizing distinct modes in the collaborative innovation process. A MU collaborative mechanism was constructed from the four perspectives of strategy, knowledge, organization, and digital technology. MU collaborative commercialization was explored in terms of heterogeneous commercialization needs, opportunities for use and verification, and the initial adoption and diffusion of innovative achievements. Three future research directions are proposed: user-led MU collaborative innovation, AI-empowered MU collaborative innovation, and MU collaborative innovation in ecosystem contexts. New perspectives and insights are provided for academia and industry through the construction of the theoretical framework of MU collaborative innovation and the proposal of future research directions.

In the dynamic environment, top managers comprehensively scan, capture, and evaluate the internal and external environment to stimulate cross-boundary innovation. In this process, how executive alertness towards resources and opportunities plays a role deserves exploration. Based on the “awareness-motivation-capability (AMC)” framework of dynamic competition theory, the relationship between executive alertness and cross-boundary innovation was examined, as well as the moderating effect of performance shortfalls and dynamic capability. Using the data of listed companies from 2012 to 2023 in Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, the results indicate that both resource alertness and opportunity alertness have a positive effect on cross-boundary innovation. Furthermore, performance shortfalls and dynamic capability strengthen the relationship between executive alertness and cross-boundary innovation. The heterogeneity test result shows that there are systematic differences in the driving effect of executive alertness on cross-boundary innovation among enterprises of different technological attributes and property rights. The research results expand the research on the antecedents of cross-boundary innovation, and provide practical inspiration for cross-boundary innovation.

Collaborative innovation platform is an effective carrier for gathering and integrating innovation resources, and knowledge flow has an important impact on the orderly operation of collaborative innovation platform. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out effective governance of the platform to guarantee the smooth flow of knowledge, so as to promote the sustainable development of the collaborative innovation platform. Based on this, the system dynamics model was used to analyze the impact of collaborative innovation platform governance mechanism on knowledge flow. First, the knowledge flow process of collaborative innovation platform was analyzed and the connotation of governance mechanism of collaborative innovation platform was clarified. Secondly, the impact of the governance mechanism of collaborative innovation platform on knowledge flow was analyzed, and then a theoretical model was constructed. Finally, system dynamics was applied to construct a system dynamics model of the influence of collaborative innovation platform governance mechanism on knowledge flow, and the model was simulated with by Vensim PLE to reveal the role of collaborative innovation platform governance mechanism on knowledge flow. The results show that both contract and relationship governance mechanisms have a positive impact on the knowledge flow of collaborative platforms, with the relational governance mechanism playing a stronger role, and the simultaneous use of both types of governance mechanisms is more conducive to the promotion of the knowledge flow of collaborative platforms. The results further show that the combination of strong contract and strong relationship governance mechanism can better promote the knowledge flow of collaborative platform under different degrees of knowledge failure and initial knowledge potential difference. It can provide references for the policy formulation and improvement of collaborative innovation platforms in China.

The industrial intelligence manifested by replacing labor with machines is an important means for manufacturing enterprises to improve quality and efficiency. However, it also brings undeniable social consequences, such as layoffs and labor disputes. Under such pressure, whether enterprises are able to continue promoting industrial intelligence has become a central research topic. From the perspective of corporate social responsibility and through the configurational analysis of 101 manufacturing enterprises, it is found that six factors, including government subsidies, profitability, customer type, enterprise type, enterprise age and competition intensity, interact with each other to form paths to expand the use of machines, namely: goverment subsidy-driven paths, competition-driven paths, and profit-driven paths. At the same time, it also identified paths where firms reduces the use of machines, including efficiency-loss path, legitimacy-loss path, dual-loss path, and legitimacy-protection path. These findings not only unravel the heterogeneous impacts of different stakeholders (such as governments, managers, customers, etc.) on enterprises, but also provide strategic guidance and decision-making framework for enterprises to continue the automation process and to find a balance between operational efficiency and social responsibility when facing labor disputes.

Innovation-driven development needs to vigorously cultivate and carry forward the craftsmanship. Vigorously promoting the craftsmanship in all walks of life is conducive to building an innovative country, and it is also necessary to build a country with manufacturer of quality products and a country with a strong socialist culture. However, the path mechanism and boundary conditions of how craftsmanship affects employee’ innovation behavior are still unclear. Therefore, data from 454 paired survey questionnaires between employees and their supervisors collected at three time points was used to analyze this research question. Based on model of proactive motivation process and antecedents, the process and boundary conditions of craftsmanship in promoting employee innovation behavior through affecting psychological availability were discussed and analyzed. It reveals that craftsmanship positively affects employees’ innovation behavior. Psychological availability plays a mediating role between craftsmanship and employee innovation behavior. Promotive ethical leadership positively moderates the relationship between craftsmanship and psychological availability, when the level of promotive ethical leadership is higher, this moderating effect is more obvious, at the same time, promotive ethical leadership positively moderates the mediating effect of psychological availability between craftsmanship and employee innovation behavior. Prohibitive ethical leadership cannot play a significant boundary role in the relationship between craftsmanship and psychological availability. The conclusion reveals the important role of promoting craftsmanship in improving employees’ innovation ability, and shows that appropriate leadership style can further strengthen the positive impact of craftsmanship on employees’ work performance.

What are the conditions and scope of application for the hold-up problem? Academic views are not unified. A theoretical model based on outsourcing situation was constructed and deduces the conditions of the hold up problem: when the factors cannot obtain all marginal returns and the contract is incomplete at the same time, the hold up problem arises. When this condition is met, intermediate product manufacturers will reduce the investment in production activities not specified in the contract. Final product manufacturers will require over investment in the contracted parts to avoid output decline due to underinvestment, resulting in investment distortion. Subsequently, the article further explores the economic laws behind the hold up problem, creatively introduces broad externality to explain the general laws that arise when it affects decision-making on variable factor input or output levels, and explains the relationship between broad externality and Pareto optimality. Finally, the paper reveals the setting rules of hold up problem related to broad externality in the model, emphasizing that the judgment of theoretical models should not be limited to conclusions, but should also focus on whether the mechanism corresponding to assumptions and conclusions match reality.

Public acceptance has an important impact on the development of face recognition technology, but there is still a lack of research on the public acceptance of face recognition. A cognitive process model was constructed based on social exchange theory and responsible innovation evaluation criteria. The model examines the behavioral decision-making balance between perceived benefits and perceived risks to determine usage intention for face recognition technology. The structural equation model was used for empirical testing. The results indicate that perceived benefits and moral ethics significantly affect the public’s usage intention. However, in the face of the perceived risks, a phenomenon of “knowingly violate” rather than “timely stop” is observed. Previous privacy invasion experience, information sensitivity and negative news are found to increase perceived risks, though they do not outweigh the benefits of face recognition. Face recognition convenience is shown to enhance perceived benefits, yet it does not lead to the disregard of privacy leakage risks. Knowledge and security related to face recognition is positively and negatively correlated with perceived benefit and perceived risk, respectively. The findings contributes to a deeper understanding of the public concerns and needs for facial recognition technology, providing guidance for optimizing technology development and market promotion strategies.