Studies in Science of Science ›› 2025, Vol. 43 ›› Issue (7): 1555-1568.

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Openness mechanism, appropriability mechanism and corporate technology for social good- A perspective based on strategic social responsibility

  

  • Received:2024-06-24 Revised:2024-10-22 Online:2025-07-15 Published:2025-07-15

开放性机制、独占性机制与企业科技向善———基于战略性社会责任视角

孙忠娟,程园   

  1. 首都经济贸易大学工商管理学院
  • 通讯作者: 程园
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金面上项目“企业数字能力的结构测量、组态前因及其对创新的影响机制研究”;“十四五”时期北京市属高校优秀青年人才培育计划项目:“企业数字能力的概念结构、构建路径及其影响价值共创的机理研究:基于北京市专精特新企业的分析”;首都经济贸易大学科研项目-青年学术创新团队“数字化情境下企业能力提升与创新机制研究团队”

Abstract: With the acceleration of scientific and technological revolution, China is seizing emerging technologies to promote economic development and social well-being, but we also face some ethical challenges of science and technology. On the one hand, many technology companies develop technological goodness through safe, green, healthy and sustainable ways. On the other hand, there are still many companies abuse technology to pursue profits blindly, resulting in ethical disorder, user privacy data leakage, human society is also facing life health safety. In this context, how to drive enterprises to develop technology for social good has become an important issue. According to social responsibility theory, enterprises can regard technology goodness as a strategic social responsibility, and enhance social benefits and economic benefits at the same time by transforming social problems into business opportunities. Under this framework, openness mechanism and appropriability mechanism become important factors that influence enterprises to develop technology goodness. However, there is a lack of research on the driving factors of enterprise technology for social good, and there is no research to explore how openness mechanism and appropriability mechanism drive enterprises to develop technological goodness from the dual perspective of social benefits and economic benefits. Based on the perspective of strategic social responsibility, the paper explores the effects of openness mechanism, appropriability mechanism and the comprehensive balance of the both mechanisms on technological goodness of enterprises. The paper also considers the moderating effects of contingency factors, including executive virtue ethics and regional legal environment. Moreover, the theoretical model for openness mechanism and appropriability mechanism affecting technological goodness of enterprises is built. Furthermore, the study uses 274 high-tech service enterprises to testify the hypotheses by regression analysis and robustness check. The results show that openness mechanism, appropriability mechanism and the comprehensive balance of the both mechanisms have positive impact on technological goodness of enterprises, executive virtue ethics and regional legal environment have positive moderating effects on the above relationship. The study enriches the research on social responsibility theory in the context of digital economy. From the perspective of strategic matching, the study provides a valuable supplement to the research on the single strategy of enterprises. From the perspective based on the interaction effect between internal values and external environment, the study reveals the black-box mechanisms of how enterprises promote technological goodness. Based on the above, the research provides specific practical guidance for the government and enterprises to reduce ethical risks and promote technological goodness. For enterprises, first of all, enterprises should actively cooperate with external stakeholders, comprehensively understand social problems, integrate social demand into technology development, and promote social progress through cooperative innovation. Second, while pursuing economic benefits, enterprises should pay attention to the construction of appropriability mechanism. By strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights to stimulate innovative vitality and the awareness of technological responsibility. Third, enterprises should balance openness mechanism and appropriability mechanism, and take social responsibility while making profits. Fourth, enterprises should pay attention to improving executive virtue ethics, encourage executives to establish correct values and ethics, and ensure that they play an active role in technology development. The government should further enhance legal service capacity, formulate and improve relevant laws and regulations, strengthen communication and cooperation with enterprises, social organizations and the public, and support enterprises to carry out scientific and technological ethical research and innovative practices.

摘要: 数智时代下科技高速发展所引致的伦理风险引发各方关注,开放性机制和独占性机制作为企业将社会问题转变为商业机会,同时实现社会效益与经济利益的重要战略,对推动经济发展、增进社会福祉具有重要意义。研究以274份高技术服务业企业数据作为样本,实证检验开放性机制、独占性机制、二者综合平衡对企业科技向善的影响,并考虑高管伦理道德水平和区域法律环境的调节作用。研究结果表明:开放性机制、独占性机制、二者综合平衡对企业科技向善产生正向影响,在上述关系中,高管伦理道德水平和区域法律环境具有正向调节作用。研究结论丰富了数字经济情境下的社会责任理论,从战略匹配视角为企业单一战略研究提供有益补充,并基于内部价值观-外部环境间交互效应视角揭示出企业践行科技向善的机制黑箱,为企业践行科技向善提供具体的实践指导。