Analysis on the Relationship between Financing Constraints and Research and Development from the Perspective of the Location of Top Management Network

Taking listed Chinese companies during 2009–2019 as objects, this paper constructs a multivariate discriminant model to measure the degrees of multiple financing constraints and establishes empirical models to analyze the non-linear relationship between the financing constraints and research and development (R&D) investment. Further, the author investigated how the top management network (TMN) location acts on the relationship between financing constraints and R&D investment. The research provides a robust evidence to an inverted U-shaped relationship between the degrees of financing constraints and corporate R&D investment: appropriate financing constraints promote corporate R&D investment; once passing a turning point, excess financing constraints would suppress corporate R&D investment. Besides, it was learned that TMN location positively moderates the financing constraints and R&D investment. In addition, TMN location plays a more obvious regulating role in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) than in SOEs. The research clarifies the relationship between financing constraints and R&D investment, as well as the moderating role of TMN location. Empirical evidence was provided to help the government reduce credit discrimination and enterprises to widen financing channels and improve innovation capability.