Digital innovation cooperation and corporate resilience in China: a U-shaped relationship

Abstract

Focusing on extreme shocks, this study investigates how emerging market firms survive and recover through cross-organizational digital synergy. It elucidates the nonlinear impact of digital innovation cooperation on corporate resilience and the phased evolutionary mechanisms of knowledge transfer during complex technological embeddedness. Analyzing 2,391 firm-year observations from Chinese listed companies between 2019 and 2022, this study extracts digital innovation cooperation elements via standardized text analysis of public announcements. A composite corporate resilience index is constructed using a dynamic capability perspective encompassing learning, adaptation, and reconfiguration. Hierarchical regression and a three-step nonlinear moderation procedure empirically validate the U-shaped main effect and multidimensional boundary conditions. Empirical evidence reveals a U-shaped relationship between digital innovation cooperation and corporate resilience. Initial adaptation costs stemming from technological heterogeneity and cognitive friction temporarily diminish risk capacity, whereas the subsequent internalization of cross-boundary knowledge during deeper cooperation drives a substantial recovery. Furthermore, top management’s digital background and corporate integrity culture, acting as cognitive and governance mechanisms, steepen this U-shaped curve, whereas intense product market competition flattens it. This research expands knowledge transfer theory within complex technological contexts, challenging traditional assumptions of immediate open innovation empowerment. It reveals the underlying dissipate then compensate logic of cross-organizational digital synergy. The proposed multidimensional nonlinear moderation framework provides quantitative criteria for firms to formulate cross-cycle budgets, mitigate cooperation risks and customize defensive strategies.