The impact of the interaction of independent and cooperative innovation on firm digitization: the moderating role of managerial discretion

Purpose This study aims to deliver a new perspective on how the interaction of independent and cooperative innovation affects firm digitization. Based on resource constraint theory, this study argues that the aforementioned interaction negatively affects firm digitization. The moderating role of managerial discretion is also discussed in light of the principles of the awareness-motivation-capability (AMC) framework. Design/methodology/approach The proposed hypotheses are empirically tested using a negative binomial modeling approach. The data used are from A-share listed companies in China’s Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2006 to 2020. Findings This study suggests that the interaction of independent innovation and cooperative innovation negatively impacts digitization. In addition, this study argues that environmental discretion and organizational discretion weaken the negative impact of the mentioned interaction on digitization. However, additional discretion in the Chinese context has no effect on above relationships. Originality/value This study explores the impact of the interaction of independent and cooperative innovation on digitization and incorporates managerial discretion into this framework based on the AMC framework.