Does the mixed ownership reform promote the innovation level of state-owned enterprises? A dual analysis of equity balance and top management governance

Understanding the impact of mixed ownership reform on the innovation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is important for further deepening reform and developing innovation-driven strategy. Based on the background of mixed ownership reform of SOEs, this paper uses SOEs listed on the A-share market in China from 2008 to 2019 as the research sample, constructs the fixed effect model of panel data, and explores the impact of non-state-owned shareholder governance on the innovation of SOEs from two perspectives, namely, equity balance and top management governance. The study found that the equity balance and the top management from non-state-owned shareholders have significant roles in promoting SOE innovation. Further, this paper makes a group test based on SOE heterogeneity. The results show that the promotion effect of the mixed ownership reform of SOEs on innovation is more significant in the competitive industries, in areas with high-level marketisation and non-high-technology SOEs. This study enriches the literature on mixed ownership reform and SOE innovation. It provides an empirical basis for the classified implementation of mixed ownership reform of SOEs in China.