Does Import Competition Promote Breakthrough Innovation? Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

Does Import Competition Promote Breakthrough Innovation? Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Does Import Competition Promote Breakthrough Innovation? Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies Xiaoxia Shi, Wenjing LIU, Qingmei Liao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9266718/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines the relationship between import competition and breakthrough technological innovation. We analyze three theoretical mechanisms through which import competition affects firms' breakthrough innovation: intra-firm factor allocation efficiency, technology spillover levels, and external innovation alliances. Using firm-level panel data from patent data, we construct a measure of firms’ breakthrough technological innovation and conduct an empirical analysis based on Chinese listed companies. The findings reveal that: (1) import competition promotes breakthrough technological innovation; (2) mechanism tests indicate that import competition enhances capital allocation efficiency within firms, increases technological spillovers, and fosters innovation alliances, thereby facilitating breakthrough innovations; (3) the positive effect of import competition on technological breakthroughs is more pronounced in industries with high market concentration and low import dependency, among firms in growth or decline stages, and those with a higher degree of digital transformation. These findings offer valuable insights for developing countries in formulating import trade policies. JIE：F14, F18, O31, O33 Import Competition Breakthrough Innovation Resource Allocation Efficiency Technological Spillovers Innovation Alliances Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 31 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 30 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9266718","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626530916,"identity":"a2ba4ff9-4f7e-40d2-9484-2ab089ab0789","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaoxia Shi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wuhan Textile University - Yangguang Campus: Wuhan Textile University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaoxia","middleName":"","lastName":"Shi","suffix":""},{"id":626530917,"identity":"c530aaad-7939-4320-b36f-1e4668dbcb7a","order_by":1,"name":"Wenjing LIU","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wuhan Textile University - Yangguang Campus: Wuhan Textile University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wenjing","middleName":"","lastName":"LIU","suffix":""},{"id":626530918,"identity":"655fe48e-ceb3-41a6-8daa-6c53d1a1e890","order_by":2,"name":"Qingmei Liao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxmbm4z8kKv7L8bM3EKmFub0tQcLiDLOxZM8BIrWw95wxkKhsY07ccCOBSC28M9ISDG62sTHOnPl44w2GGptoglokZyQfSJxxjoeZXzqt2ILhWFpuAyEthkBbDkuUSbBJzs4xk2BsOExYi/2NHMPmP2wGPAY3zxCphbHnjDGDBDDUDG7wEKulvS2NQeLMAQPJHqBfEojxCzAqjzFIVByo72c/vPHGhxobwlqQgYFEAinKIVpI1TEKRsEoGAUjAwAAb0NB6Hq3XpUAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Wuhan Textile University - Yangguang Campus: Wuhan Textile University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qingmei","middleName":"","lastName":"Liao","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-30 12:16:05","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9266718/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9266718/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108128230,"identity":"3a675670-b21c-4df8-b2d6-f50faee710c2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-29 15:40:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":674871,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptwithauthordetails.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9266718/v1_covered_23d39251-78c4-4e8e-a154-a814d15a6d4b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"Does Import Competition Promote Breakthrough Innovation? 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