Can institutional opening-up enhance enterprise innovation quality?

This study investigates the impact mechanisms and effects of institutional opening-up on enterprise innovation quality in the context of China’s Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) development, using data from listed enterprises from 2010 to 2022. The findings reveal that, institutional opening-up significantly enhances enterprise innovation quality. From the perspective of the resource-based theory, institutional opening-up improves enterprise innovation quality through three key channels-enhancing talent agglomeration effects, optimizing capital allocation efficiency, and strengthening technological support. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and technology-intensive enterprises. This study confirms that institutional opening-up can effectively break down traditional institutional barriers to factor mobility by establishing a “policy dividend-resource integration-innovation upgrading” mechanism, offering valuable insights into how institutional innovation can drive improvements in enterprise innovation quality.