TITLE:
Incentives, Constraints, and Synergy: How Does the Development of a Social Credit System Drive Corporate Patent Innovation?
AUTHORS:
Yongqi Ren
KEYWORDS:
Social Credit System, Technological Innovation, Propensity Score Matching, Difference-in-Differences
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Applied Sciences,
Vol.16 No.8,
August
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: Against the backdrop of intensifying global innovation competition, this study adopts PSM-DID method and panel data of listed companies from 2010 to 2023 to explore the impact of the social credit system on corporate patent innovation. The results show that the system affects innovation through “incentive-constraint-synergy” mechanisms: optimizing financing environment, curbing low-quality patents, and reducing technological cooperation costs. Heterogeneity analysis reveals more pronounced effects in western regions, private enterprises, and areas with low marketization, reflecting its compensatory role in formal institutional deficiencies. Further, the system enhances firms’ adaptability and value creation efficiency, forming a systemic innovation cycle. Robustness tests verify the reliability of the conclusions. This study clarifies the system’s innovation-driving pathways and provides a basis for credit governance’s transformation from “regulatory tool” to “innovation infrastructure”.