Authors: Dongmin Kong, Chen Lin, Lai Wei, and Jian Zhang
Abstract: This paper identifies information accessibility as a determinant of corporate innovation. Using a sudden termination of Google’s web search services in China, we find a large and persistent negative effect on the intensity and quality of corporate innovative activities. As Google’s exit hinders firms’ ability to access foreign information, firms that are more dependent on foreign technology experience a larger decline in patent filings, citations, and citations per patent. The results are stronger among firms in innovative industries, in regions with local web filters, and with fewer alternative sources of foreign information. Overall, the findings are consistent with the view that access to information is a key driver of technological progress.
Citation: Kong, Dongmin and Lin, Chen and Wei, Lai and Zhang, Jian, Information Accessibility and Corporate Innovation (November 18, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3291811
