Sustainable Development of Traditional Business Culture: Merchant Guild Culture and Enterprise Innovation

Li Ren () and Yanping Cheng
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Li Ren: School of Economics and Management, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Yanping Cheng: Jin Merchants Research Institute, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: By exploring the positive elements of traditional business culture and combining them with modern enterprise management concepts, this paper aims to realize the sustainable development of enterprises and cultural heritage and innovation. In this context, this study empirically examines the impact and mechanisms of merchant guild culture (MGC) on corporate innovation, using A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2022 as a sample. The findings indicate that MGC positively influences contemporary corporate innovation through both external and internal channels. External channels include alleviating financing constraints and enhancing ESG performance, and internal influence channels such as improving integrity and emphasizing human capital. Additionally, social networks strengthen the relationship between MGC and corporate innovation. Furthermore, using the legal environment as a moderating variable has led to the discovery of a certain substitution relationship between formal and informal institutions. A heterogeneity analysis further shows that the effect of MGC on innovation is more pronounced in enterprises with low-risk preference and a foreign cultural impact.

Keywords: sustainable development; informal institutions; traditional commercial culture; enterprise innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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