The influence of successor's implicit power and explicit power on dual innovation-the mediating effect of board dissent

This study explores the influence of the power of family business successors on firm innovation under the theory of social embeddedness. Based on the 2000-2019 unbalanced panel data of listed Chinese family enterprises, this study empirically examines the differences in the influence of the implicit and explicit power of successors on incremental and radical innovation respectively. Our findings show that explicit power has a more positive impact on incremental innovation, while implicit power is more conducive to promoting radical innovation. In addition, the study finds that the reason why the explicit power of succession does not have a significant impact on radical innovation, that is, the reason why board dissent is not related to radical innovation, is that some of the major innovation decisions in the enterprise are not all made at formal meetings. The research conclusions not only extend the theoretical application of social embeddedness in family enterprises, but also provide certain practical guidance for promoting enterprise innovation.

本研究基于社会嵌入性理论（social embeddedness），探讨家族企业继任者权力对企业创新的影响。本研究以2000-2019年中国上市家族企业的非平衡面板数据为样本，实证检验了继任者显性权力（explicit power）与隐性权力（implicit power）分别对渐进式创新（incremental innovation）与突破性创新（radical innovation）的影响差异。研究结果表明，显性权力对渐进式创新具有更显著的正向影响，而隐性权力则更有助于推动突破性创新。此外，本研究还发现，继任者显性权力对突破性创新无显著影响（即董事会异议与突破性创新无关）的原因在于，企业部分重大创新决策并非全部在正式会议上作出。本研究结论不仅拓展了社会嵌入性理论在家族企业领域的应用，同时为推动企业创新提供了一定的实践指导。