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Business & Economics

GOVERNANCE PATH OF COLLECTIVE SANCTIONS IN ENTERPRISE INNOVATION NETWORKS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF KNOWLEDGE FLOW: A fsQCA APPROACH³
Tao Wang, Xiaomei Li, Chao Yu, Xin Gu, Kevin Honglin Zhang

ABSTRACT. Collective sanctions are an important governance mechanism in the innovation network that can form norms and deterrents to restrain opportunistic behaviours in network members. However, current research on the governance role of collective sanctions is insufficient and lacks empirical tests, thus it cannot meet the practical needs of enterprise innovation network governance. To explore the governance path of collective sanctions in the enterprise innovation network, 227 questionnaire data were obtained from enterprises in innovation network and participating in network innovation cooperation from May to June 2019 in Sichuan, Hubei, Guangdong, Beijing and Shanghai, China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were used to analyse the relationship between collective sanctions and governance performance; multiple concurrent causal relationships among joint sanctions, knowledge flow, and governance performance were explored. Results show that collective sanctions have a significant positive effect on governance performance, and knowledge flow plays a mediating role in the collective sanctions governing network. In addition, different sub-dimension configurations of collective sanctions and knowledge flow lead to different governance performances. Among the results, three configurations lead to high governance performance, two of them have the same core conditions, that is, a tough sanctions attitude and a high degree of knowledge sharing, and the last one has strong sanctions intensity and a high degree of knowledge sharing. Meanwhile, three combinations lead to non-high governance performance: non-high sanctions intensity and insufficient knowledge sharing; non-high sanctions intensity and insufficient knowledge creation; and a tough attitude to sanctions but a lack of sanction constraints. The results reveal the governance path of collective sanctions in the enterprise innovation network and identify the combination of collective sanctions and knowledge flow that achieves high governance performance. The conclusions obtained from this study are of great significance to further reduce the risks of innovation network cooperation transactions, restrain opportunistic behaviours, and create a good network governance environment .

KEYWORDS:  collective sanctions, knowledge flow, innovation network, governance performance, structural equation modelling (SEM), fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

JEL classification:  F51, M21, A13, G30.

³Acknowledgments: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 71602132), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2020 BusinessB01), Sichuan University Special Research Project under "Double First-Class" Initiative (Philosophy and Social Sciences): National Leading Academics Project (No. SKSYL201703).