2.1 Enterprises’ social value and economic value
Enterprises’ social value refers to the value of the contributions to society generated by the business activities for creating value, which is mainly manifested in the production of products, the sale of products, the provision of products and services for society, reducing unemployment, optimizing the allocation of social resources, and making donations to social groups or social organizations in need of help (Weber, 2008). In addition, corporate social values can be defined as the positive effects that companies have on their stakeholders in the course of fulfilling their social responsibilities, through results that do not aim to create economic value but that bring more, and superior, resources to their enterprises (Jurietti, Mandelli, & Fuduric, 2017). Therefore, to some extent, social value can be defined as the positive results of enterprises’ active fulfillment of social responsibilities. It has been found that platform-based enterprises are intervening in social governance through the operation of platform public welfare and the development of platform traffic, which is improving the social value of enterprises (Ju, Liu, & Feng, 2019).
Enterprises’ economic value refers to the predicted value of their future earnings, which determines a series of activities, such as theirs future operation and development. The creation of economic value can be realized in two ways: different enterprises integrating and producing final products or services to meet the needs of users; and enterprises integrating and complementing each other’s resources, optimizing resource allocation through the division of labor, cooperation, and innovation, and thus realizing their own economic value creation (Chen & Hsieh, 2022). Therefore, if enterprises want to realize economic value, they need to enhance users’ product experience and innovation. Platform-based enterprises integrate technological innovation and management style to positively influence economic value (Yablonsky, 2021).
Regarding research on the influence of enterprises’ social value on economic value, from the perspective of CSV, Porter believed that corporate social value is not “doing good” but “creating economic value by creating social value.” Sadeghi et al. (2016) took listed manufacturing companies as an example, measuring social value according to customers, employees, communities, and other aspects, and measuring financial performance through return on equity and return on assets. These authors concluded that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the two. Chen et al. (2017) studied the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) fulfillment among hotel enterprises and assessed its impact on economic value. The results showed that there were many variables linking CSR and economic value, so there was an uncertain relationship between them. Moslemany et al. (2017) used data from the Egyptian banking industry from 2008 to 2011 as the research object and found that there was no overall relationship between the significant dependent variables and independent variables, and also that there was no correlation between CSR and financial performance. Chen et al. (2022) found a virtuous cycle between enterprises’ economic value and social value by studying agri-food enterprises. Torres-Prunonosa et al. (2022) found that, in tourism, economic value is positively influenced by social value. Winterhalter et al. (2017) studied the medical device industry and found that it focuses on building its value proposition, which involves reducing costs to make the product more affordable for more patients, thus resulting in more revenue. The importance of CSV theory in the process of social change and innovation has been recognized. For example, leaders apply CSV to improve employees’ acceptance of the company vision, work participation, and role behavior in order to improve work performance and ultimately realize the improvement of enterprises’ economic value (Wu, Inoue, Filo, & Sato, 2022).
Therefore, the current academic research in the field of traditional enterprises has found that social value affects their economic value to varying degrees; however, research on platform-based enterprises is scarce. In addition, there is still no accurate conclusion regarding the internal mechanism of innovation input and UPV affecting the economic value of platform-based enterprises’ social value. Therefore, in this research field, the relationship between the social value and economic value of platform-based enterprises, as well as the associated internal mechanism, still need to be explained.
2.2 The influence of social value on economic value
Stakeholders include shareholders, employees, creditors, consumers, local or central government, and the media, among others (Carroll, 1991; Reed, 1983). In other words, all individuals and groups that can influence the realization of organizational goals or are affected by the realization process of organizational goals (Freeman & McVea, 2008) are defined as organizational stakeholders. Therefore, according to stakeholder theory, stakeholders affect the realization of organizational goals. Enterprises create social value by paying interest to shareholders and creditors, paying compensation and welfare to employees, paying operating salaries to senior managers, and paying taxes to the state and the government (Carroll, 1991). On the other hand, the creation and realization of economic value is related to strategic decisions, encompassing the establishment, development, and survival of enterprises’ competitive position, and it represents the ultimate orientation of enterprises’ operation (Porter, 2008). In the process of creating economic and social benefits, business organizations interact with, and are inseparable from, stakeholders (Phillips & Freeman, 2008). Economic value, as the goal of enterprises, should be affected by internal and external stakeholders.
According to CSV theory, enterprises can create economic value by creating social value (Porter, 2011). This theory points out that there are shared values within the enterprise, which are generated by the interaction of social needs, market opportunities, and enterprise resources. Enterprises find possible business opportunities based on social needs, select business opportunities according to the resources they have, and put them into practice. Therefore, in the process of practice, enterprises will first meet social needs and create social value, part of which will generate economic value because of the potential business opportunities in the market. In order to meet the social and economic value demands of stakeholders, enterprises will try their best to develop products that are both socially responsible and economically beneficial (Bostoen, 2019). In other words, the emphasis on social values promotes the creation of economic values (Andrés, Ramos-González, & Sastre Castillo, 2022).
However, existing studies have shown that enterprises’ social value and economic value present an inverted U-shaped relationship. Due to uncertainty in the corporate external environment and the different stages of the corporate life cycle, corporate social value has a threshold for the positive impact on economic value (Trumpp & Guenther, 2017). However, the present paper argues that platform-based enterprises have strong capabilities in terms of bilateral market resource integration and rapid bilateral market information resource allocation, which can, to a certain extent, weaken the value influence threshold caused by information asymmetry and other problems. The inverted U-shaped relationship between enterprises’ social value and economic value does not necessarily apply to platform-based enterprises.
In summary, the social value created by platform-based enterprises will generate economic value as it conforms to the enterprise’s potential business opportunities. On the other hand, corporate social value will affect stakeholders, subsequently affecting enterprise operation and the realization of organizational goals, namely economic value. The social value of platform-based enterprises may dominate and drive their economic value. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H1: The social value of platform-based enterprises dominates and drives their economic value, i.e., social value is positively correlated with economic value.
2.3 The mediating effect of innovation input
Schumpeter’s innovation theory defines innovation as the establishment of a new production function, including product innovation, process innovation, market innovation, resource allocation innovation, organizational innovation, etc. Innovation input reflects the degree of importance that enterprises attach to innovation activities (Trumpp & Guenther, 2017). According to innovation theory, investment in innovation will improve the core competitiveness of enterprises, significantly improve the productivity of enterprises, and bring new products or new processes to enterprises, thus differentiating enterprises, increasing their market share, and enabling them to obtain excess earnings. Therefore, if enterprises carry out innovation behavior and increase innovation input, they will gain excess returns and enhance their economic value.
Referring to the previous literature, social value from the perspective of stakeholders can be classified as the social value of enterprises’ monetary capital level, human capital level, and social capital level (Aghion & Howitt, 1990; Kim, Lee, Lee, & Kim, 2010; Sen & Bhattacharya, 2001). Regarding the social value of monetary capital, enterprises’ innovation input comes from a large amount of capital input. Enterprises’ capital investment comes from internal and external financing. Except for a small portion from internal financing, most of the capital investment comes from equity financing and bond financing. Therefore, the active creation of shareholder value and creditor value helps to give shareholders and creditors the expected returns and enhance their confidence in investing, thus enabling enterprises to obtain more abundant funds. Abundant capital will encourage firms to engage in risky innovation, which in turn will increase their investment in innovation. In terms of the social value of human capital, enterprises that actively create social value are more attractive to employees and enhance their pride (Kim & Park, 2011), thus attracting more excellent employees. Excellent employees lay the foundation for reducing risk in enterprises’ innovation behavior through the increase in innovation investment. At the same time, enterprises can stimulate employees’ enthusiasm for work and improve innovation efficiency by providing good salaries and benefits, which will increase innovation input per unit of time. Regarding the social value of social capital, enterprises paying taxes to the government according to the regulations and responding to government calls and requests, among other behaviors, will be conducive to developing a good corporate image and obtaining preferential policies from the government, thus improving enterprises’ innovation input.
Based on the above discussion, the reason why platform-based enterprises adopt product and market innovation as the mainstream reform mode (Foerderer, Lueker, & Heinzl, 2021) is that the social value created by platform-based enterprises will reduce their innovation risk, increase their innovation input, and thus enhance their economic value. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H2: There exists a value influence paradigm of “social value–innovation input–economic value” in platform-based enterprises, i.e., innovation input has a mediating effect between social value and economic value.
2.4 The mediating effect of user-perceived value (UPV)
Customer-perceived value (CPV) is defined as the overall evaluation of products and services made by customers after weighing the benefits and losses perceived by the utility of products and services in the process of using products and enjoying services (Berry, Zeithaml, & Parasuraman, 1988). The research object of CPV is primarily consumers who have already consumed (Aarikka-Stenroos & Jaakkola, 2012; Ryu, Lee, & Kim, 2012). According to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers (Chap. 2, Article 9), “Consumers enjoy the right to independently choose commodities or services.” In a broad sense, the concept of consumers includes customers who have consumed and have the ability to consume but have not consumed. Therefore, with the booming development of the Internet and platforms based on Internet technology, the object of CPV is no longer limited to consumers who have already consumed (Ge, Yuan, Wang, & Park, 2021; Han et al., 2021; W. Lee, Sung, Suh, & Zhao, 2017). Users of platform-based enterprises include consumers who have already consumed and consumers who have the ability to consume but have not yet consumed. In order to distinguish the narrow sense of CPV from the broader sense, the latter is defined as “user-perceived value” (UPV).
According to UPV theory, enterprises tend to focus on customer needs to create products and provide services (Vandermerwe & Rada, 1988), and the UPV of products and services is considered to be the key to corporate decision-making and performance (Lingyu & Ying, 2010). The value that users perceive positively affects their loyalty (Clauss, Harengel, & Hock, 2019; Servera-Frances & Piqueras-Tomas, 2019), repurchase intention (Zhang, Gu, & Jahromi, 2019), and purchase behavior (So, Oh, & Min, 2018). Further, it will improve enterprises’ performance (Zhang et al., 2019), competitive position (Wirtz, So, Mody, Liu, & Chun, 2019), and economic value. Users’ social value needs depend on their social value expectations, so enterprises will create social value to meet users’ social value needs (Spiller & Ariely, 2020). Furthermore, enterprises create and undertake more social value and social responsibility, which will better meet the social value needs of users. Therefore, when users’ social value expectations are well matched with corporate social values, enterprises’ social value creation behaviors will enhance UPV (Teubner, Adam, & Hawlitschek, 2020).
In summary, when corporate social value and users’ social value are matched, corporate social value will drive users’ purchase behavior by influencing UPV, thus improving economic value. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H3: The social value of platform-based enterprises enhances economic value by influencing UPV, i.e., UPV has a mediating effect between social value and economic value.
2.5 The multiple mediating effects of platform-based enterprises’ innovation input and user-perceived value (UPV)
Users will perceive product innovation, leading to an indirect positive impact on brand loyalty through perceived value (Wang, Gao, Su, & Li, 2019). Ideally, the innovation behavior of platform-based enterprises will continuously meet the needs of users and thus improve their UPV.
Based on the above assumptions, corporate social value embedded into products will also improve UPV, thus leading to users’ strong repurchase intention and driving their purchase behavior, which ultimately affects the economic value of enterprises. Therefore, there may be a significant influencing relationship between innovation input and UPV, and there may be chain transmission in the path of social value influencing economic value. Accordingly, the following hypothesis is proposed:
H4: Platform-based enterprises follow the value impact paradigm of “social value–innovation input–UPV–economic value,” i.e., innovation input and UPV have a chain mediating effect in the impact of platform-based enterprises’ social value on their economic value.
2.6 The moderating effect of environmental uncertainty
The environment of an enterprise includes the development environment and social environment constituted by consumers, suppliers, and competitors in the process of external value interaction and value creation.
Environmental uncertainty and environmental flexibility are intertwined (Ghosh & Olsen, 2009). Environmental flexibility will improve the external resource base of enterprises’ innovative behavior, while the availability of external resources will affect stakeholders’ support for enterprises to create social value, thus reducing the motivation of enterprises to meet the value demands of external stakeholders and create social value. The willingness of enterprises to satisfy the value demands of stakeholders through product innovation may be weakened, and the motivation of enterprises to embed social value into products may also be weakened. The uncertain nature of the environment will be affected by technological progress. In particular, changes and turbulence in the environment will reduce transaction costs (Jacobides & Winter, 2005), raise industry barriers, and hinder the entry of substitutes (Lee & Mendelson, 2008). Furthermore, this weakens the motivation of enterprises in the industry to enhance competitiveness and the conversion rate of innovation cost and income. Accordingly, the following hypotheses are proposed:
H5: Environmental flexibility has a negative moderating effect on platform-based enterprises’ social value and innovation input.
H6: Environmental uncertainty has a negative moderating effect on platform-based enterprises’ innovation input and economic value.
The theoretical framework of this paper is shown in Fig. 1.
2.7 Piecewise SEM
Structural equation modeling (SEM) uses variance-covariance to estimate the whole model based on the assumption that the variables are independent from each other. However, its defect is that this method is not applicable to verify variables with non-normal distribution characteristics and their complex correlations. In contrast, piecewise SEM, developed by Lefcheck (2016), does not estimate the model as a whole, instead separately estimating each path locally. Therefore, the nested structure of the variables in the paths can be considered while estimating each path, and the difference between the model before and after nesting can be found in different paths of the same variable. The results produced will therefore be more accurate (Lefcheck, 2016). At the same time, the Akaike information criterion (AIC) (Akaike, 1974) was used to evaluate the model, which enables piecewise SEM to support research with small sample sizes. This method has been widely used in the field of ecological systems (Crino, Falk, Katsis, Kraft, & Buchanan, 2022; Martins, Poulin, & Goncalves-Souza, 2021) but has rarely been used in the field of management. The purpose of this study is to explore the internal mechanism of social value and economic value in the organizational system. Moreover, the sample size of China’s platform-based listed enterprises is small, resulting in the sample not meeting the normal requirements for hypothesis testing. Therefore, by using R-4.2.1 and piecewise SEM to model the assumptions, this paper explores the feasibility and effectiveness of this method in the field of management. The piecewise SEM flow is shown in Fig. 2. The steps are as follows:
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Establish an overall conceptual framework based on assumptions.
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The conceptual framework is broken, i.e., there is no path between variables that crosses intermediate variables, and the unidirectional single-chain base set is established for the conceptual framework after being broken.
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Perform the first fragment estimation for the established base set in (2) and perform a d-separation test for the base set estimation, i.e., perform a significance/correlation test for every two nodes of each missing path.
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Model nesting is conducted based on each significant missing path in the d-separation test results, i.e., significant missing paths are added one by one to the model of the previous layer, and AIC values are calculated for each nested model.
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Select the nested model with the minimum AIC value, namely the intermediate model, to detect whether there is a mediating effect. If it exists, the model is estimated by fragments and tested by d-separation again.
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Repeat steps (4) and (5) until there is no significant missing path in the model, after which the model can be defined as the final model.
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Exogenous variables are added to the final model for adjustment effect analysis.