Research on the Influence of Technological Innovation Enthusiasm on Innovation Performance from the Perspective of Nonlinearity—Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms

Taking Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2019 as research samples, in this paper, the authors empirically analyze the impact of technological innovation enthusiasm on innovation performance from a nonlinear perspective. The research finds that an inverted, U-shaped relationship exists between technological innovation enthusiasm and innovation performance, that is, to a certain extent, the improvement of the enthusiasm for technological innovation can improve the innovation performance of companies. However, when the enthusiasm for technological innovation reaches a certain degree, the innovation performance declines with the improvement of technological innovation enthusiasm. In addition, the moderating effect of CEO succession on the relationship between technological innovation enthusiasm and innovation performance is investigated from the perspective of corporate governance, and the research conclusions show that CEO succession strengthens the inverted, U-shaped relationship between technological innovation enthusiasm and innovation performance. This study further enriches the theoretical framework of technological innovation and corporate governance, and the relevant conclusions can provide certain theoretical reference for the innovation performance improvement of listed companies in China.