Studies in Science of Science ›› 2023, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (3): 511-520.

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Corporate Technology for Social Good: Concept, Measurement Development and Verification

  

  • Received:2021-12-27 Revised:2022-02-07 Online:2023-03-15 Published:2023-03-15
  • Contact: Wan Chen

企业科技向善:内涵、量表开发与检验

阮荣彬1,陈莞2   

  1. 1. 福州大学经济与管理学院
    2. 福州大学
  • 通讯作者: 陈莞
  • 基金资助:
    国家社会科学基金

Abstract: In the complex and changeable era of digital economy, the importance of corporate technology for social good has attracted more and more attention by academia and practitioners. However, extant studies on the concept and dimensions of corporate technology for social good are still at the start stage, and there is a lack of a reliable measurement scale to measure corporate technology for social good. After reviewing prior studies on the concept of corporate technology for social good, this study proposes that corporate technology for social good is an action that corporates integrate the concept of maximizing user value and social welfare into the design and production of products/services, and responsibly use innovative technologies to improve people’s lives and promote social progress in response to the demands of related groups, so as to realize commercial value and social value. Moreover, this study adopts grounded theory and applies NVivo11 to code relevant original qualitative materials, which in order to clarify the main features of corporate technology for social good, explore the dimensions, and develop the measurement scale of corporate technology for social good. After open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, the results show that corporate technology for social good can be divided into three dimensions: the concept and culture of corporate for social good, the corporate practice for social good, the governance system for social good. The concept and culture of corporate for social good means that the concept of corporate technology for social good are integrated into corporate mission and vision, corporate culture, and corporate products/services. The corporate practice for social good means that corporates implement technology for social good through good product innovation, product bottom line, and problem solving. The governance system for social good means that internal and external governance mechanisms relate to corporate technology for social good. Based on 2-wave questionnaire survey, the study applies exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to test the developed scale of corporate technology for social good by us. The results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis show that these three dimensions can be accepted. Moreover, the results of composite reliability and average variance extracted confirm that the measurement scale of corporate technology for social good has satisfactory reliability and validity, which can reflect the concept and dimensions of corporate technology for social good thoroughly and make up the extant research insufficiency in a certain degree. Results of this study enrich the prior theoretical research of corporate technology for social good via constructing its structural dimensions, which can help to have a deep insight into the concept of corporate technology for social good. By developing the measurement scale of corporate technology for social good, this study can lay a tool foundation for the empirical research of corporate technology for social good. Moreover, the study can also provide reference to corporate practice. Firstly, using science and technology to solve social problems and creating sustainable social value should be integrated into the concept of corporate development. Secondly, corporates need to improve the internal governance mechanisms to ensure that the design and production concept of products/services serve to maximize user value and social welfare. What’s more, corporates also need to actively respond to the demands and regulations of the society and the government on “science and technology should benefit the society and the people”. Thirdly, corporates should actively participate in the action of corporate technology for social good, such as looking for areas and product positioning where corporate technology for social good can be done, solving the social problems brought by products/services, and turning these solutions into new business opportunities.

摘要: 面对复杂易变的数字经济时代,企业科技向善的重要性日益受到学术界与实务界的关注,然而关于企业科技向善内涵、维度与测量的研究仍处于起步阶段。在回顾现有企业科技向善内涵研究的基础上,采取扎根理论并运用NVivo11软件对相关原始质性材料进行三级编码,明确企业科技向善的主要特征,探究并验证其维度,并开发测量量表。研究结果表明,企业科技向善分为理念文化向善、行动实践向善与治理制度向善三个维度。基于两阶段问卷调查结果,运用探索性因子分析法与验证性因子分析法实证检验后,结果显示研究开发的企业科技向善测量量表具备较佳信度与效度水平,能较为全面地反映企业科技向善内涵与维度,并完善了现有关于企业科技向善研究施测量表缺失的不足,给后续企业科技向善领域的研究提供了借鉴。