The Influence of Entrepreneurs’ Political Connections on Enterprise Innovation Intention

Abstract

Based on the data of the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM)-listed companies in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange of China, this paper researched the influence mechanism of political connections on enterprise innovation intention. This paper is based on the theory of reciprocal exchange of social capital. The research found that the entrepreneur’s political connections are detrimental to the improvement of enterprise innovation intention, and the differentiation strategy has a mediation effect between them. Moreover, the market competition intensity of enterprise production adjusts the influence of the differentiation strategy on enterprise innovation intention, and it can alleviate the negative influence of the political connection on the innovation intention through the differentiation strategy. Although the country’s innovation-driven strategy will provide more innovative resources for enterprises, securing the survival and development of an enterprise is becoming increasingly narrower by relying solely on establishing connections with the government.