{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T19:45:35Z","timestamp":1787773535232,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]],"date-time":"2025-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739318400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Philosophy and Social Science Foundation of Tianjin City","award":["TJYY19-013"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TJYY19-013"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Systems"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates the relationship between corporate financialization and innovation investment in Chinese manufacturing firms under the backdrop of economic policy uncertainty (EPU). We systematically examine the dual mechanisms through which financialization simultaneously supports and constrains innovation via its reservoir and crowding-out effects. Our findings reveal a robust inverted U-shaped relationship between financialization and R&amp;D expenditure, which is significantly moderated by EPU. Notably, financialization predominantly enhances R&amp;D expenditure for most firms in our sample, challenging conventional perspectives on the financialization\u2013real investment nexus. Further analyses indicate that alleviating financing constraints serves as a fundamental mechanism through which financialization fosters innovation investment. However, elevated EPU exacerbates financing constraints, attenuating the reservoir effects of financialization on innovation activities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/systems13020115","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]],"date-time":"2025-02-12T10:25:57Z","timestamp":1739355957000},"page":"115","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Corporate Financialization and Innovation Investment in China: Disentangling the Crowding-Out Effect and Reservoir Effect Under Economic Policy Uncertainty"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4875-4739","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jing","family":"Tian","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Economics, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1007\/s10887-015-9115-2","article-title":"Too much finance?","volume":"20","author":"Arcand","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Econ. Growth"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"314","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jdeveco.2008.04.002","article-title":"Financial liberalization, private investment, and portfolio choice: Financialization of real sectors in emerging markets","volume":"88","author":"Demir","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Dev. Econ."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1093\/SER\/mwi008","article-title":"The financialization of the American economy","volume":"3","author":"Krippner","year":"2005","journal-title":"Socio-Econ. Rev."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"863","DOI":"10.1093\/cje\/ben009","article-title":"Financialization and capital accumulation in the non-financial corporate sector: A theoretical and empirical investigation on the U.S. economy: 1973\u20132003","volume":"32","author":"Orhangazi","year":"2008","journal-title":"Camb. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1093\/ser\/mwt020","article-title":"Making sense of financialization","volume":"12","year":"2014","journal-title":"Socio-Econ. Rev."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"606","DOI":"10.1016\/j.iref.2020.12.026","article-title":"A study on the motivation of financialization in emerging markets: The case of Chinese non-financial corporations","volume":"72","author":"Xu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int. Rev. Econ. Financ."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"719","DOI":"10.1093\/cje\/beh032","article-title":"Financialization and the slowdown of accumulation","volume":"28","author":"Stockhammer","year":"2004","journal-title":"Camb. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"376","DOI":"10.1080\/09538259.2017.1348574","article-title":"Financialization and real investment in the European Union: Beneficial or prejudicial effects?","volume":"29","author":"Barradas","year":"2017","journal-title":"Rev. Political Econ."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"354","DOI":"10.1080\/09538259.2016.1147734","article-title":"Rethinking the financialization of non-financial corporations: A reappraisal of U.S. empirical data","volume":"28","author":"Fiebiger","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rev. Political Econ."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"434","DOI":"10.1080\/01603477.2020.1734463","article-title":"Financialization and the \u2018supply-side\u2019 face of the investment-profit puzzle","volume":"44","author":"Rabinovich","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Post Keynes. Econ."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1393","DOI":"10.1093\/cje\/bex085","article-title":"The effects of financialization on investment: Evidence from firm-level data for the U.K.","volume":"42","author":"Tori","year":"2018","journal-title":"Camb. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101970","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pacfin.2023.101970","article-title":"Does firm financialization affect optimal real investment decisions? Evidence from China","volume":"79","author":"Leng","year":"2023","journal-title":"Pac.-Basin Financ. J."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"717","DOI":"10.2307\/2118406","article-title":"Finance and growth: Schumpeter might be right","volume":"108","author":"King","year":"1993","journal-title":"Q. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1016\/0304-3932(93)90028-E","article-title":"Finance, entrepreneurship and growth","volume":"32","author":"King","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Monet. Econ."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1593","DOI":"10.1093\/qje\/qjw024","article-title":"Measuring economic policy uncertainty","volume":"131","author":"Baker","year":"2016","journal-title":"Q. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"85","DOI":"10.2307\/1885568","article-title":"Irreversibility, uncertainty, and cyclical investment","volume":"98","author":"Bernanke","year":"1983","journal-title":"Q. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"623","DOI":"10.3982\/ECTA6248","article-title":"The impact of uncertainty shocks","volume":"77","author":"Bloom","year":"2009","journal-title":"Econometrica"},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"523","article-title":"Policy uncertainty and corporate investment","volume":"29","author":"Gulen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Rev. Financ. Stud."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101873","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pacfin.2022.101873","article-title":"Economic policy uncertainty, bank loan, and corporate innovation","volume":"76","author":"Tian","year":"2022","journal-title":"Pac.-Basin Financ. J."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1468-0084.2009.00569.x","article-title":"With or without U? The appropriate test for a U-shaped relationship","volume":"72","author":"Lind","year":"2010","journal-title":"Oxf. Bull. Econ. Stat."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104311","DOI":"10.1016\/j.frl.2023.104311","article-title":"Does financialization affect firm\u2019R&D expenditure? Evidence from China","volume":"58","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Financ. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13","DOI":"10.1080\/030851400360541","article-title":"Maximizing shareholder value: A new ideology for corporate governance","volume":"29","author":"Lazonick","year":"2000","journal-title":"Econ. Soc."},{"key":"ref_23","first-page":"32","article-title":"The falling real investment puzzle: A view from financialization","volume":"12","author":"Zhang","year":"2016","journal-title":"Econ. Res. J."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1777","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6261.2004.00679.x","article-title":"The cash flow sensitivity of cash","volume":"59","author":"Almeida","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Finance"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1490","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbankfin.2012.03.025","article-title":"Investment and financing constraints in China: Does working capital management make a difference?","volume":"37","author":"Ding","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Bank. Financ."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"793","DOI":"10.1111\/jofi.12490","article-title":"Precautionary savings with risky assets: When cash is not cash","volume":"72","author":"Duchin","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Finance"},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"671","article-title":"Money and economic growth","volume":"33","author":"Tobin","year":"1965","journal-title":"Econom. J. Econom. Soc."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100068","DOI":"10.1016\/j.igd.2023.100068","article-title":"Corporate financialization, digitalization and green innovation: A panel investigation on Chinese listed firms","volume":"2","author":"Yang","year":"2023","journal-title":"Innov. Green Dev."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"765","DOI":"10.1093\/rfs\/hhg013","article-title":"Financial development and financing constraints: International evidence from the structural investment model","volume":"16","author":"Love","year":"2023","journal-title":"Rev. Financ. Stud."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"190","DOI":"10.1016\/j.qref.2005.11.007","article-title":"Financial development and dynamic investment behavior: Evidence from panel VAR","volume":"46","author":"Love","year":"2006","journal-title":"Q. Rev. Econ. Financ."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"975","DOI":"10.1111\/jofi.12133","article-title":"Refinancing risk and cash holdings","volume":"69","author":"Harford","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Finance"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"270","DOI":"10.1111\/meca.12179","article-title":"Financialization and the non-financial corporation: An investigation of firm-level investment behavior in the United States","volume":"69","author":"Davis","year":"2017","journal-title":"Metroeconomic"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1080\/1351847X.2016.1225590","article-title":"A theory of operational cash holding, endogenous financial constraints, and credit rationing","volume":"24","author":"Kling","year":"2018","journal-title":"Eur. J. Finance"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1985","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6261.2009.01492.x","article-title":"Why do US firms hold so much more cash than they used to?","volume":"64","author":"Bates","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Finance"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104878","DOI":"10.1016\/j.frl.2023.104878","article-title":"Enterprise financialization and stock price crash risk","volume":"60","author":"Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Financ. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1097","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6261.2010.01562.x","article-title":"Financial strength and product market behavior: The real effects of corporate cash holdings","volume":"65","author":"Fresard","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Finance"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"531","DOI":"10.1080\/1540496X.2018.1451990","article-title":"Financial asset allocations and R&D activities: Evidence from China\u2019s listed companies","volume":"55","author":"Liu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Emerg. Mark. Financ. Trade"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"744","DOI":"10.1287\/orsc.12.6.744.10082","article-title":"Capabilities as real options","volume":"12","author":"Kogut","year":"2001","journal-title":"Organ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"707","DOI":"10.2307\/1884175","article-title":"The value of waiting to invest","volume":"101","author":"McDonald","year":"1986","journal-title":"Q. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.1002\/smj.368","article-title":"Entry in the presence of dueling options","volume":"25","author":"Folta","year":"2004","journal-title":"Strateg. Manag. J."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"520","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfineco.2013.08.007","article-title":"Political uncertainty and risk premia","volume":"110","author":"Veronesi","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Financ. Econ."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2018.10.001","article-title":"Policy uncertainty and firm cash holdings","volume":"95","author":"Phan","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Bus. Res."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/S0304-405X(00)00070-2","article-title":"Financial markets and allocation of capital","volume":"58","author":"Wurgler","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Financ. Econ."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1727","DOI":"10.1111\/acfi.12511","article-title":"Economic policy uncertainty and corporate inventory holdings: Evidence from China","volume":"60","author":"Zeng","year":"2020","journal-title":"Account. Financ."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1177","DOI":"10.1002\/smj.2399","article-title":"Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U-and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research","volume":"37","author":"Haans","year":"2016","journal-title":"Strateg. Manag. J."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"615","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcorpfin.2017.12.010","article-title":"Peer influence on payout policies","volume":"48","author":"Adhikari","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Corp. Finance"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4703","DOI":"10.1287\/mnsc.2020.3695","article-title":"Does firm investment respond to peers\u2019 investment?","volume":"67","author":"Bustamante","year":"2021","journal-title":"Manag. Sci."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"549","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfineco.2018.01.012","article-title":"Dividend payments as a response to peer influence","volume":"131","author":"Grennan","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Financ. Econ."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"366","DOI":"10.5465\/amr.2006.20208686","article-title":"Why do firms imitate each other?","volume":"31","author":"Lieberman","year":"2006","journal-title":"Acad. Manag. Rev."},{"key":"ref_50","unstructured":"Jo, T., and Todorova, Z. (2016). Effects of competition upon profit margins from a Post Keynesian perspective. Advancing the Frontiers of Heterodox Economics, Routledge."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1162\/003355397555163","article-title":"Do investment cash flow sensitivities provide useful measures of financing constraints?","volume":"112","author":"Kaplan","year":"1997","journal-title":"Q. J. Econ."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"847","DOI":"10.1080\/13683500.2016.1217195","article-title":"The impact of economic policy uncertainty on stock returns of Turkish tourism companies","volume":"21","author":"Demir","year":"2018","journal-title":"Curr. Issues Tour."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"613","DOI":"10.1017\/S0022109017000175","article-title":"Policy uncertainty and mergers and acquisitions","volume":"52","author":"Nguyen","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Financ. Quant. Anal."},{"key":"ref_54","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"28","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jfs.2018.08.005","article-title":"Policy uncertainty, investment, and the cost of capital","volume":"39","author":"Drobetz","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Financ. Stab."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Moussa, A.S., Elmarzouky, M., and Shohaieb, D. (2024). Green Governance: How ESG Initiatives Drive Financial Performance in UK Firms?. Sustainability, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/su162410894"}],"container-title":["Systems"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-8954\/13\/2\/115\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T16:32:14Z","timestamp":1760027534000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-8954\/13\/2\/115"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]]},"references-count":55,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2]]}},"alternative-id":["systems13020115"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/systems13020115","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-8954"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-8954","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,12]]}}}