Abstract:    With the wave of digitalization triggering profound changes in the information media, Internet public opinion attention may bring additional opportunities and pressures on enterprises′ innovation activities. In order to explore the intrinsic relationship, this study constructed a systematic theoretical framework by combining the eyeball effect and the pressure effect, and used a panel regression model to examine the impact of Internet public opinion attention on enterprises′ dual innovation and the boundaries brought by the embeddedness of the executives′ social networks, by using a sample of five high-technology industries in the Ashares of Shanghai and Shenzhen in the period of 2011-2019. The key findings of this study are as follows: firstly, there is an inverted Ushaped relationship between Internet public opinion and enterprises′ explorative innovation, but a sustained positive impact on exploitative innovation. Secondly, executive social networks embedding positively moderates the above relationship. Further research showed that the impact of Internet public opinion attention is more significant in the performance-deficit firms and nonstate firms, and that the Internet public opinion environment is an important external factor constraining the effectiveness of the innovation balance model. The findings of the study will enrich the theories related to dual innovation in the social media era and will provide ideas for enterprises and relevant government departments to dialectically cope with this external shock.

Key words:  Internet public opinion attention, explorative innovation, exploitative innovation, executive social networks