Research On The Influence Of Open Knowledge Disclosure On Firm Value And Its Mechanisms

Technological innovation is a pivotal source of competitive advantage and supernormal profits.However,innovators can only partially enjoy the profits of technological innovation,and the appropriation strategies they adopt are equally crucial.Conventional innovation management theories posit that proactively and gratuitously disclosing research and development results contradicts rational behaviour because it implies that competitors can access and absorb a firm’s technological knowledge at a lower cost,significantly undermining the economic benefits from innovation and placing the firm at a disadvantage in market competition.Contrary to intuition,increasing profitdriven firms opt to disclose innovative outcomes through academic journals and conferences,challenging traditional innovation management theories.The phenomenon of firms willingly disclosing innovative outcomes that confer competitive advantages without seeking direct returns,commonly known as open knowledge disclosure,has garnered significant attention in academia.Despite the valuable and practical insights generated by existing research,several shortcomings persist.First,prior studies have primarily focused on the driving forces behind open knowledge disclosure,with limited attention and inconclusive findings regarding its influence on firm value.Furthermore,existing research often isolates the examination of open knowledge disclosure,neglecting comparative studies with other appropriation strategies.Additionally,most current research has been conducted within the United States or Europe,raising questions about the applicability of its findings in China and thus unable to provide valuable advice for Chinese corporate managers.Finally,the prevailing research methodologies heavily rely on mathematical models and case studies,with conclusions needing empirical validation.In the rare instances where empirical studies are employed,the research process tends to derive empirical results first and subsequently offer context-specific interpretations,lacking a logically consistent theoretical underpinning.This paper employs a comprehensive theoretical framework encompassing profiting from innovation theory,legitimacy theory,and signalling theory to analyze the influence of open knowledge disclosure on firm value and its mechanisms in China to address the limitations of existing research.Sub-study one focuses on the impact of open knowledge disclosure on firm value,compares the differences in the impact of open knowledge disclosure and patents on firm value,and explores the moderating effects of industry characteristics(industry growth and industry competitiveness)on their relative effectiveness.This paper further examines how open knowledge disclosure influences firm value from substantive and symbolic dimensions,building on the findings of substudy one.From a substantive dimension,open knowledge disclosure facilitates extending a firm’s technology into technical standards to maximize innovation profits.Therefore,sub-study two investigates how a firm’s influence on technical standards operates in the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value and analyzes the moderating effects of firm ownership and market share on the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firms’ influence on technical standards.From a symbolic dimension,open knowledge disclosure,as a positive signal,conveys a firm’s technological capabilities and openness,aiding the firm in garnering increased market visibility and enhancing relationships with stakeholders to elevate firm value.Hence,substudy three explores how market visibility operates in the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value and investigates the impact of firm size and technology market maturity on the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and market visibility.This paper conducts an empirical investigation into the influence of open knowledge disclosure on firm value and its underlying mechanisms using data from listed companies in the Chinese information and communication technology(ICT)industry from 2007 to2022.Sub-study one indicates: firstly,open knowledge disclosure significantly enhances firm value;secondly,the positive impact of open knowledge disclosure on firm value is more significant than that of patents;thirdly,the relative effectiveness of open knowledge disclosure on firm value is more pronounced in industries with higher growth;fourthly,the relative effectiveness of open knowledge disclosure on firm value is more pronounced in industries with higher competitiveness;fifthly,the publication of journal papers,English papers,independently authored papers,and papers in top-tier journals can better enhance firm value;sixthly,patents,especially invention patents,exhibit a significant substitution effect with open knowledge disclosure concerning their impact on firm value.Sub-study two suggests: firstly,open knowledge disclosure significantly elevates firms’ influence on technical standards;secondly,firms’ influence on technical standards serves as a mechanism in the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value;thirdly,compared to state-owned enterprises,open knowledge disclosure can better enhance private firms’ influence on technical standards;fourthly,market share negatively moderates the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firms’ influence on technical standards;fifthly,the publication of conference papers,English papers,coauthored papers,and non-top-tier journal papers can better improve firms’ influence on technical standards;sixthly,patents and open knowledge disclosure exhibit a significant substitution effect in enhancing firms’ influence on technical standards,with this substitution effect strengthening with the rise in patent technological levels.Sub-study three indicates: firstly,open knowledge disclosure significantly increases market visibility;secondly,market visibility serves as a mechanism in the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value;thirdly,firm size negatively moderates the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and market visibility;fourthly,technology market maturity negatively moderates the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and market visibility;fifthly,the publication of journal papers,English papers,co-authored papers,and top-tier journal papers can better enhance market visibility;sixthly,patents and open knowledge disclosure exhibit a significant substitution effect on enhancing market visibility,with this substitution effect intensifying with the rise in patent technological levels.This paper’s theoretical contributions are as follows.First,unlike studies focusing on traditional appropriation strategies such as patents or trade secrets,this paper focuses on open knowledge disclosure and explores its impact on firm value,which significantly expands the existing literature related to appropriation strategies and introduces new perspectives for subsequent research in this field.Second,unlike literature that investigates open knowledge disclosure in isolation,this paper compares the differences in the impact on firm value between open knowledge disclosure and patents and analyzes how these differences vary with changes in industry growth and competitiveness,providing a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of the complex relationship between open knowledge disclosure and patents.Third,by integrating profiting from innovation theory,legitimacy theory,and signalling theory,this paper analyzes the impact of open knowledge disclosure on firm value and its mechanisms and points out that open knowledge disclosure helps firms enhance their influence on technical standards and market visibility,thereby improving firm value,which not only deepens the understanding of the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value but also expands the roles of innovation theory,legitimacy theory,and signalling theory in innovation management.Fourth,unlike studies conducted based on the U.S.or European institutional backgrounds,this paper analyzes the impact of open knowledge disclosure on firm value and its mechanisms in China and conducts empirical tests using listed companies in the Chinese ICT industry,which not only expands existing literature on open knowledge disclosure but also significantly enriches China’s open knowledge disclosure research.This paper’s practical implications are as follows.First,although traditional views suggest that firms should protect innovative achievements through trade secrets or patents,this paper’s research findings indicate that excessive secrecy may not contribute to reaping innovation profits.Instead,a judicious level of openness may be a more profitable strategy.Therefore,firms should proactively disclose knowledge to enhance firm value.Second,the research conclusions suggest that open knowledge disclosure has a more significant positive effect on firm value than patents.Moreover,as industry growth or competitiveness increases,the advantage of open knowledge disclosure over patents becomes more pronounced.Hence,corporate managers should dynamically adjust their appropriation strategies in response to changes in the industry environment to maximize firm value.Third,corporate managers should recognize the role of firms’ influence on technical standards in the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value and should flexibly utilize open knowledge disclosure to drive the formulation of technical standards and thereby maximize firm value,especially for private firms and firms with a small market share.Fourth,corporate managers should accurately understand the role of market visibility in the relationship between open knowledge disclosure and firm value and actively disclose knowledge to enhance visibility in the market and thus achieve an increase in firm value,which is particularly crucial for small firms or firms operate in an immature technology market.