Abstract:     Under the background of the new normal of economic development, which factor-intensive industries can be better promoted by entrepreneurs′ power concentration (EPC) for independent innovation? How does cross-level knowledge heterogeneity of entrepreneurs affect these relationships? In view of these problems, the above relationship is discussed from the perspective of industry factors and information/decision-making. Further, this study adopts panel data on the new ventures of the China′s Growth Enterprise Market, and uses the random-effects Tobit model and the random-effects negative binomial model to verify the above relationship.
    The research indicates that: (a)EPC is positively associated with entrepreneurial ventures′ independent innovation intention (EVI); (b) compared with non-technology-intensive industries, EPC has a greater impact on the EVI in technology-intensive industries; (c) the higher the heterogeneity of knowledge between entrepreneurs and their teams, the greater the impact of EPC on the EVI; (d) the moderating effects of industry factors on the relationship between EPC and EVI also depends on the degree of knowledge heterogeneity between entrepreneurs and their teams. When the degree of cross-level knowledge heterogeneity of entrepreneurs is low, the positive effect of EPC of entrepreneurial ventures in technology-intensive industries is more prominent. When the degree of cross-level knowledge heterogeneity of entrepreneurs is high, the difference in the EVI between technology-intensive industries and non-technology-intensive industries driven by EPC will be narrowed.
    This study contributes to the on-going scholarly on leader power and firm innovation in a few distinct ways. First,this study probes the relationship between EPC and EVI. Previous studies focus on the CEO/CTO power in established corporations. These studies pay less attention to the leaders of entrepreneurial firms and their power. Compared with the established corporations, entrepreneurial firms have low resource endowment. And powerful entrepreneurs tend to have more far-reaching influence on entrepreneurial firms′ innovativeness by integrating the internal and external resources. Therefore, the role of entrepreneurs′ power in innovation activities of entrepreneurial firms cannot be ignored. Second, the moderating effects of industry categories and cross-level knowledge heterogeneity of entrepreneurs are investigated. It provides new insights for upper echelons researchers. Few studies examine the impacts of external industry characteristics, and internal leaders and their teams′ functions on the relationship between leaders power and enterprise innovation. Specifically, existing literatures usually select a certain industry or take all companies in a certain country as samples to study the influence of leaders′ power on enterprise innovation. This impact has not been compared across industries. Moreover, strategic decisions of entrepreneurial firms are usually the result of the joint action of leaders and their teams. Compared with the established corporations, the external environment of entrepreneurial firms is more dynamic. The teams in entrepreneurial firms are required for undertaking the more extensive roles and complex tasks. A cross-level interaction between leaders and their teams will become particularly critical.
    This study has a number of implications for research. First, entrepreneurial firms that seek independent innovation should be open to the idea of endowing their entrepreneurs with greater power to foster their innovative spirit. Specifically, the appointment of the leaders should follow the principle that the leader should serve as a CEO and other important positions in entrepreneurial firms, especially in entrepreneurial firms of technology-intensive industries. However, for non-technology-intensive industries, such centralized mode is not conducive to the cultivation and development of entrepreneurs′ innovative spirit due to the cross-domain limitations of entrepreneurs′ own knowledge. In this vein, entrepreneurs should change the original centralized mode and shift to reasonable decentralization. Moreover, for centralized entrepreneurs in different industries, improving the cross-level knowledge heterogeneity is an effective way to enhance the EVI in their industries. It can promote the formation of teams′ intelligence mechanism through the training of cross-level knowledge and skills. The establishment of this mechanism helps to enhance the positive impact of EPC on the EVI in technology-intensive industries. And it also facilitates centralized entrepreneurs make full use of centralized advantages to carry out cross-field circulation and integration of team knowledge. Accordingly, it promotes the transformation of enterprise development from being driven by traditional factor to driven by innovative factor, and ultimately boosting industrial upgrading and the transformation of national economy.

Key words: entrepreneur, power, independent innovation, knowledge background, industry category