Research on the Impact of Executive Innovation Awareness on Innovation Efficiency

Based on panel data from A-share listed companies in Shenzhen and Shanghai from 2008 to 2023, this paper constructs an indicator of executive innovation awareness from a textual quantitative perspective and examines its impact on firm innovation efficiency. Executive innovation awareness significantly improves firm innovation efficiency. Further robustness tests and endogeneity tests maintain consistent direction and significance, supporting the main conclusion that is independent of specific metrics or sample years. In terms of mediating mechanisms, management shareholding ratio partially mediates the “executive innovation awareness → innovation efficiency” effect chain. Heterogeneity analysis shows that this positive relationship is stronger in firms with low competition and high employee density, suggesting that resource redundancy and human capital conditions can enhance the transformation from awareness to efficiency. The research conclusions provide a basis for firms to enhance executive innovation awareness from a strategic and governance perspective, optimize equity incentives, and improve organizational configuration to improve innovation efficiency.