Chain director network and enterprise performance: Current situation, mechanism and heterogeneity analysis

The chain director network is an important component of enterprise social capital and has a significant impact on its operational performance. Based on the data of A-share listed companies in China from 2007 to 2022, this study uses social network analysis to characterize the characteristics and facts of the development of chain director network in Chinese enterprises, and explores the relationship, mechanism, and empirical testing between chain director network and enterprise performance. Research has found that the scale, core, and efficiency of the chain director network in Chinese enterprises have increased, but the density has decreased. There is a clear differentiation and asymmetry between the connectivity of state-owned enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises; the chain director network has a significant positive impact on enterprise performance, and the role of non-independent director network and central enterprises is greater. The results of robustness and endogeneity analysis also support this conclusion; it promotes enterprise performance through the effect of output level expansion and marginal cost decline; this promotion role is more prominent in state-owned enterprises, large asset scale enterprises, and central and western enterprises; the reason why the chain director network has a greater impact on the performance of state-owned enterprises is that the connectivity of state-owned enterprises and non-state-owned enterprises only has a significant positive effect on state-owned enterprises. The research conclusion of this article provides relevant suggestions for enterprise management and government regulation. © 2024 Systems Engineering Society of China. All rights reserved.