Study on the Relationship Between Dual Network Embeddedness and Subsidiary Innovative Performance: The Mediating Effect of Absorptive Capacity

Abstract

This article explores the relationships between the dual network embeddedness of subsidiaries (group internal network embeddedness and group external network embeddedness) and subsidiary innovative performance in emerging economies within the context of the digital economy. Using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) to analyze survey data from 182 subsidiaries of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The findings of the study reveal the effect of the two dimensions (structural embeddedness and relational embeddedness) of intra- and extra-group network embeddedness on the two dimensions of absorptive capacity, and innovative performance at the subsidiary level. It clarifies the chain mediating effects of the two dimensions of subsidiary absorptive capacity on subsidiary innovative performance, as well as the direct impact of subsidiary potential absorptive capacity on subsidiary innovative performance.