Corporate cybersecurity governance and open innovation: evidence from China

In an era when data assets and algorithmic capabilities have become core productive forces, cybersecurity governance serves as a critical trust foundation for cross-organizational collaboration. Using data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2024, this study constructs a firm-level cybersecurity governance measure based on corporate annual reports and relevant legal texts and empirically examines its impact on open innovation. The results show that cybersecurity governance significantly promotes open innovation. Mechanism analyses indicate that cybersecurity governance facilitates open innovation by strengthening firms’ capacity to safeguard digital collaboration and reducing information asymmetry. Further analyses indicate that this effect is stronger in firms with more collaborative cultures, lower risk-taking levels, and a higher level of artificial intelligence development. Moreover, the effect is more pronounced among firms with greater overseas investment, in regions with fewer adjudicated patent infringement cases, in inland cities, and in industries with lower competitive intensity. These findings enrich micro-level research on the determinants of corporate open innovation and provide empirical evidence and policy implications for firms in emerging economies and developing countries seeking to strengthen cybersecurity governance.