How does equity restriction affect innovation quality? Evidence from listed manufacturing companies in China

Improving the innovation quality of manufacturing companies has currently received increasing attention in the transformation from "Made in China" to "Created in China". Equity restriction is now one of the most talked about issues in China's corporate governance structures, but we have a limited understanding of the impact of equity restriction on innovation quality. This paper empirically analyzes the relationship and intrinsic mechanism between equity restriction and innovation quality using all A-share listed manufacturing companies in China from 2007 to 2021 as the research sample. First, the Tobit regression model is used to analyze the impact of equity restriction on innovation quality, and the Heckman two-stage model is used for the endogenous test. Then, the three-step regression model with mediating effects is used to validate the intrinsic mechanism of equity restriction to promote innovation quality from two paths, namely equity incentives and R&D investment. The research results show that equity restriction has a significant positive impact on innovation quality; equity incentives and R&D investment play a mediating role between equity restriction and innovation quality. This paper enriches the research on the influencing factors of innovation quality and provides a theoretical basis based on equity restriction for the transformation of manufacturing towards high-quality innovation, and explores the intrinsic mechanisms by which equity restriction affects innovation quality.