Purpose This study examines whether and how SMEs' post-adoption use of generative AI (GenAI) relates to firms' market-facing digital presence. Moving beyond binary adoption, it asks how three usage patterns, i.e. duration (continuity over time), volume (cumulative interaction) and frequency (regularity of use), are associated with externally observable signals of online visibility and credibility, including website content depth, social media audience/engagement, web traffic, and search visibility. Design/methodology/approach We integrate three firm-level data sources for 175 Italian SMEs: (1) GenAI application usage logs (Dec 2023–Jul 2024) to construct duration, volume and frequency measures, (2) digital trace indicators from an SEO/competitive intelligence platform (Dec 2024) to capture five presence dimensions and build a composite index via PCA and (3) administrative controls from AIDA. We estimate OLS models with heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors and include industry and region fixed effects (final models: 138 firms with complete data). Findings GenAI usage frequency is positively and significantly associated with the PCA-based digital presence index, while usage duration and cumulative volume are not. When duration, volume and frequency are entered jointly, none is statistically significant, consistent with overlap among post-adoption usage measures. The results indicate that routinised, regular GenAI use, rather than time since adoption or total interaction intensity, is the usage dimension most closely linked to stronger market-facing digital presence. Originality/value The paper provides post-adoption evidence on GenAI in SMEs by linking behavioural usage logs to later, externally visible digital outcomes. It operationalises GenAI engagement through distinct continuity, intensity and regularity measures and connects them to a multidimensional digital presence construct derived from web and social media traces. By combining platform logs, SEO intelligence data and administrative firm records, the study offers a replicable approach for explaining heterogeneous outcomes after GenAI adoption and highlights the strategic relevance of routinisation for SME competitiveness.
Purpose Drawing on the board capital perspective, this study examines how two distinct board resources – knowledge diversity embedded in directors' functional expertise and information diversity derived from their external industry ties – affect market reactions to new product introduction (NPI) announcements, and whether these effects vary with product newness and firm size. Design/methodology/approach Using an event-study methodology, this study analyzes 395 NPI announcements by US-listed high-tech firms. Innovation performance is measured through cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) surrounding announcement dates. Board knowledge diversity is operationalized using Blau's index based on directors' functional backgrounds, while board information diversity is captured through industry embeddedness derived from directors' external board ties. Cross-sectional regression analyses test direct and moderating effects, incorporating product newness and firm size as contextual moderators. Findings Board knowledge diversity is positively and significantly associated with market reactions to NPI announcements, with stronger effects for highly novel products and smaller firms. By contrast, board information diversity is negatively associated with market reactions to NPI announcements, but the association is statistically insignificant. The results are robust across alternative model specifications and measurement approaches, suggesting that internally embedded expertise plays a more critical role than external network ties in innovation governance. Originality/value Moving beyond composite diversity measures, this study distinguishes the innovation-governance roles of directors' human and social capital. It further advances the literature by assessing the market-perceived value of specific NPIs and identifying product newness and firm size as boundary conditions shaping the contribution of board capital to innovation governance.
Purpose This study aims to investigate why some regions with high collaboration intensity experience persistently low innovation performance; a phenomenon we term the collaboration paradox. We introduce and empirically examine the concept of collaborative lock-in to explain how culturally embedded collaboration patterns systematically constrain innovation outcomes despite intensive collaborative activity. Design/methodology/approach Integrating regional innovation systems theory, institutional theory, and force-field theory, we develop a multi-level framework proposing seven mechanisms of collaborative lock-in. We adopt a sequential mixed-method design. This includes a systematic literature review, a regional survey of 16 multi-industry actors in Kymenlaakso (Finland, a region with high collaboration but low R&D investment), and 12 qualitative interviews with key innovation system actors. Findings Results reveal a systematic force-field gradient: as collaboration moves from internal through dyadic external to network configurations, restraining forces (perceived risk, coordination costs) amplify while relational drivers (trust and familiarity) decline. This produces an aspiration-enactment gap: actors normatively endorse openness but behaviorally revert to familiar partners. Seven empirically validated mechanisms sustain lock-in, including trust-through-familiarity and self-reinforcing feedback where low-novelty outcomes validate risk-averse schemas. Originality/value This study conceptualizes collaborative lock-in as a distinct form of regional lock-in focused on relational routines and partner selection schemas. It offers a mechanism-based account of how cultural schemas translate into collaboration decisions, explaining the persistence of suboptimal collaboration equilibria. For policy, findings suggest interventions must recalibrate the perceived balance of forces at the novelty threshold, through risk-sharing mechanisms and trust-brokering infrastructure, rather than merely promoting collaboration volume.
Purpose Radical innovation is crucial for the long-term survival of firms, yet it remains challenging to achieve for most firms. To validate the theoretical rationale of executive compensation stickiness and link managerial cognition to corporate innovation, this study draws on the optimal innovation-motivating incentive scheme and the attention-based view to investigate how and when executive compensation stickiness is associated with the radicalness of corporate innovation. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of 984 Chinese A-share listed firms engaged in innovation activities between 2009–2016, this study tests its hypotheses using fixed-effect ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions and mediation tests with bootstrapping. Findings Executive compensation stickiness is positively associated with the radicalness of corporate innovation. This effect is mediated by executives' long-term focus of attention. Moreover, executive compensation stickiness is more strongly associated with the radicalness of corporate innovation when underperformance intensity is high, whereas underperformance duration does not appear to moderate this relationship. Originality/value This study identifies executive compensation stickiness as a risk-tolerant incentive arrangement associated with the radicalness of corporate innovation, and examines its underlying cognitive mechanism and boundary conditions. Thus, this study strengthens and extends the literature on optimal innovation-motivating incentive schemes, the attention-based view and radical innovation, while validating the theoretical rationale of executive compensation stickiness.
PurposeThis study uses manufacturing enterprise data spanning 2011–2023 to explore whether and how the synergistic effects of digital and intelligent policies promote ambidextrous innovation in enterprises based on the resource-based view. Design/methodology/approachThis study builds a quasi-natural experiment using the Broadband China Policy (BCP) and the Intelligent Manufacturing Policy (IMP) and drawing on the theory of the resource-based view to discuss the impacts and influencing mechanisms of policy synergy on enterprises' ambidextrous innovation. A difference-in-difference with a double machine learning technique and a four-stage mediation effect model are applied to complete the empirical tests. Findings(1) The synergy of digital and intelligent policies notably enhances corporate ambidextrous innovation; (2) resource accumulation, utilization and allocation act as mediating mechanisms; (3) this effect is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, firms in the growth and maturity stages, large enterprises and non-high-tech enterprises and (4) policy synergy yields greater benefits than any single policy alone, with the sequence of BCP followed by IMP being more effective than the reverse order. Originality/valueThis study theoretically explains how the synergy of digital-intelligent policies can promote manufacturing enterprises' ambidextrous innovation by revealing the mediating effects of resource accumulation, utilization and allocation and determines the conditions for amplifying these effects. This research enriches the relevant literature on enterprises' ambidextrous innovation, resource endowments and policy-driven innovation and provides implications for managers and policymakers who seek to use digital-intelligent policy synergy to promote ambidextrous innovation.
Purpose Although relationships among relational networks, knowledge activities, and team innovation have been widely examined in prior research, the mechanisms through which differentiated knowledge paths influence innovation have not been directly compared within a single model. Based on tie strength theory and knowledge creation theory, this study proposes that strong and weak ties influence team innovation through differentiated knowledge activities. Specifically, strong ties and weak ties foster team innovation by promoting knowledge sharing and knowledge acquisition, respectively. In addition, the study positions knowledge acquisition capability as a key contextual factor in this mechanism. Design/methodology/approach Using a “Structure–Situation–Process” framework that integrates social network and knowledge creation perspectives, this study tests the hypotheses using survey data collected from 288 knowledge-based teams in China. Hierarchical regression and bootstrapping methods are used to examine the proposed mediating and moderating effects. Findings The results confirm that both knowledge sharing and knowledge acquisition play significant partial mediating roles between relational networks and team innovation, particularly through knowledge sharing. Furthermore, knowledge acquisition positively moderates the relationship between knowledge sharing and innovation. A moderated mediation analysis further reveals that the indirect path via knowledge sharing is significant only when the level of knowledge acquisition is high. Originality/value The theoretical contribution of this study lies in its integrative refinement of existing theoretical frameworks. Specifically, it contributes in three ways. First, it simultaneously examines the dual-path mediating effects of strong and weak ties on team innovation through knowledge sharing and knowledge acquisition within a single model, comparing the effect sizes of the four paths and providing comparable empirical evidence for long-standing theoretical debates. Second, it unexpectedly discovers that knowledge sharing dominates in the weak-tie pathway and reveals its theoretical mechanism as a “value realization amplifier.” Third, it finds that knowledge acquisition not only serves as a mediating path but also moderates the relationship between knowledge sharing and team innovation, proposing and preliminarily validating the synergistic role of knowledge acquisition as a “system enabler.” These findings do not fundamentally question existing theories but rather offer a finer-grained and more integrative understanding within the existing theoretical framework, opening up new testable propositions for future research.
Purpose This paper investigates how women’s involvement in management affects firm financial performance in two distinct entrepreneurial contexts: academic spin-offs (ASOs) and innovative startups not anchored to universities. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on upper echelons theory and the literature on academic entrepreneurship, we develop hypotheses on the role of female managers in shaping firm outcomes. We test them on a large panel dataset of 1,581 ASOs (10,386 firm-year observations) and 2,980 innovative startups (19,272 firm-year observations). Findings Our findings reveal a negative effect of women on ASOs' financial performance, while the relationship is positive, when significant, in innovative startups. This evidence highlights the role of context in shaping the gender diversity-performance link, and it suggests that university affiliation may dampen the benefits of diversity that are more likely to emerge in more flexible environments. Practical implications Gender diversity in management is not automatically beneficial. Its effects depend on context, organizational culture and support. Effective inclusion policies and leadership pathways for women can transform diversity from a symbolic measure into a strategic resource driving innovation, decision-making and firm growth. Social implications Inclusive, diverse management teams generate social value by enabling all voices to influence decisions, enhancing fairness and innovation. Such practices help dismantle systemic inequalities, promote equal opportunities and provide role models, supporting cultural and institutional change toward broader gender equality in academia and entrepreneurship. Originality/value This paper contributes to both gender and entrepreneurship research by showing how the institutional embeddedness of ASOs conditions the growth performance effects of female management, in contrast to the more flexible environment of innovative startups.
Purpose This paper repositions innovation ecosystems as an organizational phenomenon rather than primarily a structural arrangement. By foregrounding ecosystem organizing, it addresses persistent definitional ambiguity and develops a processual definition of innovation ecosystems that captures how coordination is practically accomplished and recurrently renegotiated across heterogeneous actors, technologies and institutional contexts. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper. The argument is developed through a comparative and integrative discussion of existing innovation ecosystem scholarship and relevant organizational perspectives, with particular attention to processual, sociomaterial and institutional interpretations of organizing. On this basis, the paper advances a conceptual reframing and derives a research agenda. Findings The paper proposes a definition of innovation ecosystems as socio-technical organizing processes oriented to a shared value proposition under conditions of uncertainty and interdependence. It articulates three complementary conceptual lenses for future research: interdependence as relational and sociomaterial dynamics, orchestration as governance-in-practice and contextual boundaries as institutional embeddedness. It formalizes the integration of these lenses in two propositions and specifies the boundary conditions under which an organizing perspective adds explanatory power. It also outlines theory-informed directions for comparative and process-sensitive empirical inquiry. Originality/value The contribution provides an integrated organizational vocabulary for innovation ecosystem research, shifts the analytical focus from structural description to dynamic organizing and offers a conceptual platform for developing sharper theoretical arguments and hypotheses in future studies.
Purpose This paper analyses how artificial intelligence adoption and investment intensity shape financially relevant supply chain outcomes. The focus is on inventory obsolescence and deferred revenues linked to delivery performance. Design/methodology/approach The analysis relies on an unbalanced panel of publicly listed non-financial firms from the European Union. Fixed-effects panel regressions are employed to assess the effects of AI adoption and AI investment intensity. Interaction terms are introduced to capture the conditional role of logistics efficiency, proxied by inventory turnover. Firm-level financial controls and macroeconomic variables are included. Findings AI adoption is associated with lower inventory obsolescence and reduced deferred revenues. The effects strengthen with higher AI investment intensity. Results also show that AI delivers greater benefits when firms operate efficient inventory systems. Logistics efficiency amplifies the impact of AI investment indicating that digital tools are most effective when embedded in agile operational structures. Practical implications Our findings suggest that firms should move beyond symbolic AI adoption and commit resources to deep integration. Investments in AI yield stronger returns when aligned with efficient inventory management and delivery processes. For managers, AI should be treated as a structural component of supply chain strategy rather than a standalone technology. Originality/value This paper links AI engagement to financially material supply chain outcomes. It moves beyond binary adoption measures by incorporating investment intensity and operational context. The study provides new evidence on how digital transformation translates into reduced financial uncertainty within supply chains.
Purpose The technological catch-up of latecomer firms contributes to breaking industry monopolies and enhancing resource allocation efficiency. This paper aims to explore the impact of university-industry collaboration (UIC) on latecomer firms' technological catch-up and its underlying mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach Based on the knowledge-based theory, this paper uses matched data from Chinese listed companies and patent information for the period 2007–2022 as the research sample, and constructs a theoretical framework explaining how the UIC affects the technological catch-up of latecomer firms. It also focuses on discussing the heterogeneous impacts of financing constraints, environmental uncertainty and market competition. Findings The results show that the UIC helps latecomer firms catch up in technology both domestically and globally, and this conclusion remains valid after rigorous robustness testing. The internal mechanism is that UIC can enhance the knowledge diversification and acquisition efficiency of the firms' knowledge bases, which in turn promotes their technological catch-up. Heterogeneity research finds that when firms face with stronger financing constraints, greater environmental uncertainty and fiercer market competition, the UIC plays a more significant role in promoting the technological catch-up. Originality/value This paper expands the research perspective of the existing literature on the path of technological catch-up in firms, and highlights the important role of the collaboration between basic research and applied research in technological catch-up.
Purpose This article examines how knowledge workers manage generative AI adoption in ethically charged workplace contexts, focusing on how perceived usefulness and necessity coexist with ethical and societal concerns.Design/methodology/approach We use a multi-phase mixed-method design combining qualitative interviews, a quantitative survey, and supplementary qualitative follow-up interviews. Study 1 draws on 22 semi-structured interviews and abductive, theory-informed qualitative analysis, informed by constructivist grounded theory principles, to develop a process account of acceptance under moral tension. Study 2 surveys 543 knowledge workers and uses latent-variable structural equation modelling to examine selected relationships suggested by the qualitative mechanism.Findings Study 1 shows that acceptance is shaped by tension between "must-use" necessity beliefs and ethical/societal risk beliefs. Knowledge workers manage this tension through strategies such as input sanitization, selective "safe-task" use, verification routines, responsibility shifting, trivialization, and bolstering. Study 2 provides partial quantitative support: perceived risk and perceived necessity strongly predict experienced cognitive dissonance, while the dissonance-intention relationship is specification-sensitive, significant in the direct model but non-significant in the mediated specification. The high HTMT value between perceived usefulness and behavioural intention further requires caution in interpreting PU-related paths.Originality/value The study contributes a mechanism-oriented account of generative AI adoption under ethical tension. Cognitive dissonance is theorized as a complementary process lens, not as a validated replacement for TAM3.
Purpose-This study examines how deep-tech startups transition from public support to private capital. Drawing on signaling theory and the resource-based view, we investigate how firm age, R&D intensity and export activity-individually and as a signal bundle-shape the timing and magnitude of follow-on investment after participation in Korea's Tech Incubator Program for Startups (TIPS). Design/methodology/approach-We integrate government TIPS records with CB Insights data, yielding 319 deep-tech startups and 2,834 firm-year observations. Weibull hazards models analyze investment timing; Heckman two-step models examine amounts while correcting for selection bias. The three focal signals are modeled as independent and interacting predictors. Findings-Firm age exhibits a U-shaped relationship with both investment speed and amount. R&D intensity enlarges follow-on funding and accelerates timing when complementary signals are present, functioning as a cornerstone signal within the bundle. Export activity operates as an attention signal accelerating investor engagement. A significant three-way interaction shows that the bundled configuration of age, R&D and export yields faster and larger investments, with signal complementarity strengthening as firms mature. Practical implications-Young startups should bundle R&D with early export engagement; mid-aged firms should refresh their signal portfolio to avoid signal ambiguity. Policymakers can enhance program effectiveness by coupling grants with export facilitation and investor-readiness services. Originality/value-This study advances a contingent signal bundling framework, empirically testing a threeway signal configuration in government-supported deep-tech ventures-extending beyond the two-way designs examined in prior research. By jointly modeling timing and amount, we reveal that signal bundles operate through complementary mechanisms. The U-shaped age pattern challenges linear assumptions about the liability of newness.
Purpose - This paper analyses whether and how the establishments' innovation level moderates the relationship between electronic performance monitoring (EPM) and workplace wellbeing (WW). While previous studies have explored the effects of EPM on WW, empirical evidence remains mixed and has paid limited attention to organizational conditions that may shape these effects. Building on an integrated theoretical approach that combines the innovative work practices (IWP) framework and socio-technical systems theory within an innovation management perspective, we argue that an establishment's innovation profiles constitute a key contextual factor that conditions employees' responses to EPM practices. Design/methodology/approach - Using microdata from 21,869 establishments with more than 10 employees across all European Union countries and the United Kingdom, drawn from the 2019 European Company Survey (ECS), a large-scale, cross-country dataset covering a wide range of industries and organizational types, we conduct aprobit analysis stratified by establishment's innovation profiles (non-innovative, internally innovative and market-innovative). WW is captured through a composite indicator based on manager-reported measures of work climate, employee motivation, absenteeism and employee retention. Findings - Our findings reveal that EPM has a negative and statistically significant association with WW. However, this negative relationship is not uniform across establishments. Rather, establishments' innovation profile plays a moderating role in the relationship between EPM and WW, with innovation acting as a buffering mechanism that attenuates the adverse effects of EPM on WW. In quantitative terms, the estimated marginal effects indicate a reduction of approximately 4.2% points in the probability of having WW levels above the sample median for non-innovative establishments, whereas the effect becomes statistically insignificant in establishments with innovative practices. These results hold across a broad cross-country and cross-sector sample of European establishments, although they are contingent on the organizational innovation environment in which EPM practices are implemented. Originality/value - This study makes a unique contribution to the literature by demonstrating that the WW consequences of introducing EPM critically depend on establishments' innovation level. Theoretically, the study advances innovation management and socio-technical perspectives by demonstrating that innovation environments function as a boundary condition that shapes the wellbeing consequences of digital monitoring, thereby explaining the heterogeneous and often modest effects reported in prior research. This highlights the importance of innovation management for balancing efficiency gains from digitalization with employee wellbeing.
Purpose Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) enables unprecedented forms of machine-generated content and transforms how organizations use and develop GenAI-based products and services. The combination of human and potential machine creativity thus opens new possibilities that require further research into the organizational ideation process. Therefore, the research paper investigates how this technology influences adoption and ideation in organizations.Design/methodology/approach Following grounded theory methodology, the study analyses data from 41 semi-structured interviews with GenAI experts across countries and industries to understand this new phenomenon within organizational innovation management.Findings The conceptual framework derived illustrates the relationships and interdependencies between (1) GenAI adoption within organizations (technology factors, organizational alignment, managerial implications, human factors), (2) the GenAI ideation process and (3) external influences. Our study shows that creativity is shifting from purely human work to both areas and thus provides valuable new insights into human-machine collaboration and how ideas are generated.Originality/value Our study contributes to the research area of innovation management and provides a novel framework for ideation with GenAI to enhance organizational innovative strength while balancing internal and external factors without excluding the human.
Purpose-This study draws on upper echelons and imprinting theories to examine whether and how board chairs' early-life poverty experience shapes firms' approaches to innovation (exploitation and/or exploration) and to explore its boundary conditions. Design/methodology/approach-We used a longitudinal dataset of Chinese publicly listed manufacturing firms from 2006 to 2018 and adopted a negative binomial regression model. We also utilized a fixed-effects model to control for the influence of time-invariant variables. Findings-Results are as follows. First, firms led by board chairs with early-life poverty experience are more likely to favor exploitation-dominant innovation rather than exploratory innovation. Second, the relationship between board chairs' early-life poverty experience and exploitation-dominant innovation is more pronounced when the living standards of residents in focal firms' location are lower and the focal firms possess fewer slack resources. Originality/value-Our study extends the existing literature on ambidextrous innovation and organizational consequences of executives' early-life adversities by showing that the impact of board chairs' early-life poverty experience is on the preference for exploitation-oriented innovation strategy rather than the balance of ambidextrous innovation. Findings of this study also contribute to the individual imprinting research by considering the subsequent change of imprinting effect at its persistence.
Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships between team reflexivity and team member innovative behavior, and to investigate the mediating role of role breadth self-efficacy and role ambiguity, as well as the moderating role of shared cognitive flexibility within the team.Design/methodology/approach This study collected three-wave time-lagged, multi-source field questionnaire data from 76 teams and their 354 team members in Chinese firms, and employed Bayesian multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) to test the theoretical model.Findings When shared cognitive flexibility is high, team reflexivity is more likely to promote innovative behavior by enhancing role breadth self-efficacy. Conversely, when shared cognitive flexibility is low, team reflexivity is more likely to inhibit innovative behavior by increasing role ambiguity.Originality/value This study reveals the mixed effects of team reflexivity on team members' innovative behavior, clarifies the mediating roles of role breadth self-efficacy and role ambiguity, and the moderating role of shared cognitive flexibility within the team. The findings provide important practical implications for organizations on how to maximize the positive effects of team reflexivity while minimizing its negative effects on innovative behavior.
Purpose Ethical issues in cooperative innovation have long been a significant concern among innovation scholars. Drawing on signalling theory, this study argues that corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings can signal potential moral hazards to partners, thereby influencing the level of cooperative innovation. Moreover, as the effectiveness of signals depends on the receivers' interpretation and evaluation, this study further examines the moderating effects of a focal firm's leading and monopolistic positions within its industry on the relationship between CSR ratings and cooperative innovation.Design/methodology/approach Using a longitudinal dataset of publicly listed firms on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges in China from 2010 to 2020, this study integrates data from the CSMAR database, the Hexun website, and the CNRDS platform. The final sample comprises 2,911 unique firms and 23,045 firm-year observations.Findings The results indicate that CSR ratings exert a signalling effect that significantly enhances firms' level of cooperative innovation. Furthermore, this signalling effect is more pronounced in leading firms, giving rise to a signalling amplification effect. In contrast, the effect is weakened in monopolistic firms, resulting in a signalling attenuation effect.Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by identifying and validating the signalling effect of CSR ratings, thereby extending the understanding of their consequences. It further broadens the contextual boundaries by incorporating the focal firm's industry position as a contingent factor, and deepens insights into how ethical information asymmetry in cooperative innovation can be mitigated from a signalling perspective.
Purpose The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming skill structures and changing how education relates to labor market outcomes. This study explores the impact of AI diffusion on wage consequences associated with educational mismatch in China's urban labor market. Design/methodology/approach Using microdata from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) (2014–2018) combined with city-level indicators of AI diffusion, we construct a cohort-based measure of educational mismatch and estimate extensive fixed-effects models to assess the role of AI. Findings Three key findings emerge. First, overeducation leads to a significant wage penalty, while undereducation is associated with a wage premium. Second, although AI diffusion is not significantly associated with individual wages, it reduces the wage penalty for overeducated workers and slightly lowers the wage premium for undereducated workers. Instrumental-variable estimates using lagged AI diffusion produce similar patterns, although the results should be interpreted with caution. Third, these effects vary by occupation: AI mainly benefits overeducated workers in non-manual jobs, where surplus schooling can be effectively absorbed, whereas in manual jobs it compresses the returns to undereducation as tasks become more skill-intensive. Mechanism analysis provides suggestive evidence consistent with the view that AI improves skill utilization and promotion expectations, while general life satisfaction remains unaffected. Originality/value This study shows how AI transforms the value of skills in evolving labor markets and highlights the need for policy efforts to align human-capital development and worker-transition support with technological change.
Purpose This study investigates the impact of the industrial internet on entrepreneurial innovation attention allocation and explores the underlying transmission mechanisms. By examining how this technological shift reshapes innovation priorities, this study contributes to the literature on innovation governance and entrepreneurial strategic focus in the context of digital transformation.Design/methodology/approach Using a sample of A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2023, we apply text analysis to corporate annual reports to quantify entrepreneurial innovation attention. Based on the quasi-natural experiment of China's Industrial Internet pilot program, we adopt a staggered difference-in-differences model to identify causal effects.Findings The empirical results demonstrate that the Industrial Internet program significantly enhances entrepreneurs' innovation attention, which is channeled through intensified industry competition, increased external attention, and reduced information asymmetry. Furthermore, the effect is more pronounced for state-owned enterprises, highly digitalized firms, and enterprises located in the eastern region.Originality/value This study provides a new theoretical perspective linking industrial internet development to entrepreneurial innovation attention. We validate specific market and informational mechanisms through which technology-driven disruption reorients managerial attention toward innovation, offering valuable insights for innovation policy and corporate strategy in the digital era.
