The dark side of earnings pressure: the case of firms’ collaborative innovation
基于2010-2021年中国A股制造业上市公司数据，研究发现盈利压力会抑制企业协同创新，创新绩效落差会强化这一效应，而财务冗余和学术资本则能削弱它。
Analysts play an important role in corporate innovation. However, to date, we do not know what role earnings pressure, which stems from firms’ performance failing to meet or beat analysts’ earnings expectations, will play in corporate collaborative innovation. Integrating agency theory and the behavioural theory of the firm, we construct a theoretical framework to systematically explore the logical relationship between earnings pressure and firms’ collaborative innovation. On the basis of empirical data of A-share manufacturing companies listed in China from 2010 to 2021, we find that earnings pressure inhibits firms’ collaborative innovation. In addition, innovation performance shortfall strengthens the above relationship, whereas financial slack and academic capital weaken it. By providing the first theoretical and empirical evidence on the relationship between earnings pressure and firms’ collaborative innovation, this study expands the literature on earnings pressure and collaborative innovation and sheds important light on optimising the capital market structure to enhance firms’ innovation capabilities.