Dear Colleagues,
we are pleased to share the fifth issue of Industry & Innovation for 2026. The contributions collected in this issue examine the effects of China's special economic zones on R&D investment incentives, the influence of earnings pressure on collaborative innovation, and the role of informal institutions and financial constraints in fostering innovation across African economies. The issue also investigates how incumbent suppliers can support innovation within internal corporate ventures. Finally, an interview with the authors of the award-winning article "Knowing brown and inventing green? Incremental and radical innovative activities in the automotive sector" reflects on the technological transition of the automotive industry.
We hope you enjoy the reading:
Research articles
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2503283. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Do China's special economic zones increase incentives to invest in R&D?
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Hussinger%2C+Katrin. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Katrin Hussinger & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Palladini%2C+Lorenzo. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lorenzo Palladini
Abstract
China's special economic zones (SEZs) have been established to foster business growth and innovation by improving the institutional context of specific sub-regional areas. We examine the effect of SEZs on the contribution of research and development (R&D) to the market value of firms located in these areas. The market value reflects investors' expectations of future returns to R&D, providing crucial information for strategic investment decisions. Larger R&D contributions to the market value create stronger incentives for firms to invest in innovation. Empirical results suggest that the contribution of R&D to the market value increases through the SEZs program, particularly for R&D intensive firms. This suggests that regional policies, while increasing incentives to innovate, may widen the gap between less and more R&D intensive firms, potentially impacting competition and long-term growth.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2522882. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The dark side of earnings pressure: the case of firms' collaborative innovation
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Ren%2C+Ge. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ge Ren, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Zeng%2C+Ping. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ping Zeng & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Zhong%2C+Xi. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xi Zhong
Abstract
Analysts play an important role in corporate innovation. However, to date, we do not know what role earnings pressure, which stems from firms' performance failing to meet or beat analysts' earnings expectations, will play in corporate collaborative innovation. Integrating agency theory and the behavioural theory of the firm, we construct a theoretical framework to systematically explore the logical relationship between earnings pressure and firms' collaborative innovation. On the basis of empirical data of A-share manufacturing companies listed in China from 2010 to 2021, we find that earnings pressure inhibits firms' collaborative innovation. In addition, innovation performance shortfall strengthens the above relationship, whereas financial slack and academic capital weaken it. By providing the first theoretical and empirical evidence on the relationship between earnings pressure and firms' collaborative innovation, this study expands the literature on earnings pressure and collaborative innovation and sheds important light on optimising the capital market structure to enhance firms' innovation capabilities.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2538837. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Greasing the bottom of the pyramid? The role of bribery, informality, and financial access for African innovators
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Krammer%2C+Sorin+M+S. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sorin M. S. Krammer
Abstract
The relationship between informal institutions and innovation remains poorly understood. In this study, I focus on bribery, a pervasive informal practice in many emerging markets and argue that in the African context, it exerts a positive (greasing) influence on firms' ability to introduce new product innovations. Furthermore, I propose two essential contingencies (i.e. informal competition and access to finance) that can affect this greasing effect in contrasting ways. These theoretical conjectures are tested using data on more than 10,000 firms across 37 African countries during the period 2011 to 2021. The empirical results reveal that bribery facilitates the introduction of new product innovations, with informal competition moderating negatively this relationship. Although financial accessibility stimulates directly firm innovation, it does not weaken the association between bribery and new product introductions. These findings provide novel insights into the dynamics of bribery and innovation, as well as their contextual contingencies in African markets.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2025.2596035. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Empowering corporate ventures: the role of incumbents' supplier support on internal corporate venture innovation
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Schlee%2C+Dominik. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dominik Schlee, https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Gutmann%2C+Tobias. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tobias Gutmann & https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Foerstl%2C+Kai. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kai Foerstl
Abstract
This study introduces the Internal Corporate Venture Triad (ICVT), a novel theoretical framework that redefines collaboration dynamics among Internal Corporate Ventures (ICVs), their parent corporations, and incumbent suppliers, known for their robust service support and previous partnerships. This triadic approach advances beyond the traditional dyadic model, providing essential support for ICV success, addressing high failure rates highlighted in existing research. Using an embedded multiple case study, this research explores three cases with six ICVs, identifying four ICVT types, each reflecting a strategic intent of corporates to incorporate suppliers into their ventures: strategic focus, innovation support, resource requirements, and mediator demand. Second, it reveals three supplier engagement paradigms – Bound Benefactor, Opportunistic Supporter, Systematic Innovator – each offering unique contributions to venture success such as enhancing learning proficiency or promoting a behaviour-mimicking phenomenon 'Social Mirroring.' This study advances the literature on innovation and corporate venturing, providing actionable insights for integrating suppliers in ICVs.
Interview article
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2026.2616816. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="13" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Knowing brown and inventing Green? A conversation on award-winning research into the automotive transition
https://www.tandfonline.com/author/Anton-Tejon%2C+Marcos. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="14" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marcos Anton-Tejon
Abstract
In this interview article, we follow the research journey of Julia Mazzei, Tommaso Rughi, and Maria Enrica Virgilito, authors of 'Knowing brown and inventing green? Incremental and radical innovative activities in the automotive sector.' Their study examines how automotive firms move from long-established 'brown' technologies to new 'green' ones, using evolutionary economics and large patent datasets to show how past knowledge shapes future innovation. The authors distinguish between incremental and radical innovation trajectories, showing how technological continuity and transformation often coexist within firms. Such evidence also question the extent to which 'brown' and 'green' knowledge can be effectively separated. Firms that have long worked on combustion engines or mechanical components are often better positioned to move into low-emission technologies. This creates a highly diverse landscape of eco-innovation, with companies differing widely in how they combine existing skills with new green technologies. In the interview, the authors discuss their motivations, methods, and key findings, reflecting on how firms' knowledge bases and diversification shape green innovation. They also highlight the sector's ongoing restructuring – driven by electrification, shifting value chains, and rising global competition – and the theoretical, managerial, and societal implications of their work.
Best regards
Alessandra Perri and Vera Rocha
Co-Editors-in-Chief, Industry and Innovation
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Vera Rocha
Copenhagen Business School
Kilevej
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