External environment uncertainty, key resources acquisition, and corporate technological innovation

Abstract This study investigates the impact of external environmental uncertainty on technological innovation from the perspective of key resource acquisition. Using data from A‐share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2008 to 2019, we empirically test the relationship between external environmental uncertainty faced by firms and technological innovation input and output. Our findings reveal that external environmental uncertainty has a negative impact on the input and output of corporate technological innovation. In addition, key resource acquisition, namely, capital resource acquisition and information resource acquisition, plays a mediating role in this relationship. As an asset for obtaining resources, corporate social capital is a crucial means for firms to obtain external resources. This study further incorporates corporate social capital into the analysis, which shows that corporate social capital plays a positive moderating role in the impact of external environmental uncertainty on corporate technological innovation. Furthermore, research shows that compared with nonhigh‐tech industry firms, the technological innovation of high‐tech industry firms is more sensitive to external environmental uncertainty.