1. Introduction
Organizational innovativeness is a significant element for organizations to capture leading edges and take up a dominant, competitive place in the marketplace from the perspective of IT development and advancement and industrialized integration [
1]. During digital economy era, advanced digital technologies linked to dynamic surroundings put pressure on enterprises to implement the latest innovative processes and technologies and provide infrastructural assistance for economic growth [
2]. However, the complexity linked with technical dynamism and digital platform capability makes the survival of companies more challenging. Even in such a challenging environment, IP, and its resultant transformation, cannot be ignored due to its key role in affecting the success and better performance of organizations, particularly in English educational institutions [
3]. On the other hand, most English educational institutions in China do not have core technologies and lack technological advancement, increasing the resistance toward their innovation performance [
4]. English educational institutions should deeply incorporate into the digital economy and discover innovative growth points with digital development and cross-boundary incorporation based on the system effects in terms of English compatibility [
5]. This is possible with innovation, better skills in English, and specifically, advancement in technology; thereby, conventional businesses are capable of adapting modern prototypes in present digitalized and knowledge-based economies. Thus, digital platforms can break the limitations of time, organization, and space with help of digital technology, and are increasingly attracting the attention of scholars [
6]. Mostly, industry leaders are trying to create digital platforms and digital business ecosystems to overcome secretarial barriers and accomplish technological, collaborative novelty [
7]. English educational institutions are responsible for the organized transmission of skills, cultural values, and knowledge in an officially controlled structure [
8]. DPC performs a critical role in the survival of English educational institutions with regard to ecological and scientific challenges, and it gives novel ideas for bringing about innovation in procedures and services through aligning resources strategically on the basis of their activities [
9]. DPCs are advanced technologies employed in enterprises to facilitate editing, distributing, and standardizing data and information at an incomparable scale [
10]. They aid in transforming the ways through which organizations gain competitive benefits and play huge role in innovative practices with offering valuable information [
11]. DPC has a significant role in the enhancement of organizational innovation performance.
Currently, single innovation no longer meets the requirements of industry development, specifically for English educational institutions with restricted resources [
12]. Therefore, enterprises are further inclined to rely on digital platform capabilities to acquire vital information, resources, and discover partners for their digital innovation and thus innovation performance [
13]. These enterprises’ strategies are flexible, with few decision times and rapid innovation. Thus, this study was carried out to recognize DPC and determine its positive effects on innovation performance in the presence of various supporting factors.
Digital innovation is the application and ideas of digital technology to business problems. Digital innovation enables management to utilize novel information and knowledge and explore opportunities to bring about innovativeness in a firm; it is recognized as a facilitator of innovation performance [
14]. Digital innovation acts as bridge between DPC and IP links, and DI supports enterprises in exploring novel opportunities and knowledge to take part in innovative activities regarding their practices and services [
6]. Several researchers have identified that digital innovation facilitates companies’ innovation performance in the unlocking of innovation perspectives, although, at present, there is lack of clearness relating to the role that digital innovation plays in the linkage between DPC and the innovation performance of an organization [
15]. Hence, this paper investigated how digital innovation affects the association between DPC and organizations’ innovation performance.
Simultaneously, digital technology plays an essential role in improving innovation performance, and through digital technology competencies, enterprises are competent in boosting their information or knowledge about the technological market, its competitors, and suppliers. This valuable information adds to decisions regarding innovation activities [
16], where practitioners are presented with various outcomes of digital technology. However, researchers lack related evidence about the moderating role of digital technology. Thus, in this study, the moderating role of digital technology in the relationship between DPC and IP was investigated.
Most of the existing literature has highlighted the numerous impacts of digital platform capability, for instance, organizational agility [
17], B2B firm performance [
18], network capability [
19], and digital transformation [
20], but the most exciting outcomes of DPC in terms of digital innovation and innovation performance have been overlooked until now. However, the majority of studies on digital platform capability have focused on SMEs and large industries, with less consideration given to English educational institutions. To fill this gap, this study contributes to the body of literature through examining the exciting results of digital platform capability (DPC) in terms of digital innovation and innovation performance, which has been overlooked so far. This study focused on English educational institutions to evaluate the direct influence of DPC as a major facilitator for achieving innovation success, in contrast to earlier studies that have mostly focused on SMEs and large businesses. The study examined how digital innovation mediates the relationship between DPC and innovation performance, as well as how technology itself has a moderating effect on it. Through filling this vacuum, the research offers insightful information about how DPC promotes innovation outcomes in the educational field, with pertinent benefits for policymakers and practitioners looking to use digital platforms and innovations for improved education.
The study used a quantitative approach and cross-sectional design, and the results showed a substantial positive association between digital platform capability (DPC) and innovation performance in English educational institutions after COVID-19. Digital innovation mediated this relationship, whereas digital technology played a moderating role, strengthening the positive impacts of DPC on innovation performance. According to the findings, enhancing the innovation performance in the educational sector will require spending money on DPC, encouraging an innovative culture, and encouraging the usage of digital technology. The promotion of digital preparedness and the development of an environment that encourages innovation in educational facilities should be given top priority by policymakers. These results provide insightful information for improving innovative education in the post-pandemic age.
The structure of the article starts with the section discussing the literature and hypotheses developed regarding the study variables.
Section 3 includes the data collection and sampling techniques used, and the subsequent part comprises the results of the analysis. In the last section, implications from the theoretical and practical perspectives are extensively observed to compare the tested study hypotheses.
1.1. Resource Based View Theory
The Penrose (1959) study [
21] served as the basis for the RBV, since it examined how resource deployment affects both an organization’s internal and outward growth. The Resource-Based View (RBV) hypothesis is a well-known, theoretical viewpoint in strategic management that places an emphasis on how firm-specific resources and skills contribute to generating competitive benefits and a superior performance. The RBV contends that having access to and using one-of-a-kind, priceless, uncommon, and inimitable resources can give businesses a durable, competitive edge [
22,
23].
1.2. Theoretical Framework
The RBV theory fits well within the parameters of our framework when examining the impact of digital platform capability (DPC) on innovation performance in English educational institutions post COVID-19. These institutions can utilize the potential of digital technology for creativity and competitiveness due to DPC, which can be regarded as a priceless and special resource. Educational institutions can improve their performance in the post-pandemic period through growing and enhancing their DPC, which will enable them to better adapt to the shifting digital context. In our research, the intervening role of digital innovation (DI) was identified, which is further supported by the RBV theory. The ability to create and use innovative digital approaches and solutions constitutes what DI, as a firm-specific competence, represents. The study shows how DPC affects the acceptance and use of technological advances within educational institutions, with DI functioning as a mediating component. The RBV theory is also related to the idea of taking into account digital technology (DT) as a moderator in the link between DPC and innovation performance. DT stands for the global digital environment, and its regulating function illustrates how the efficiency of DPC in improving innovation performance may differ depending on the dominant digital advancements and trends in the education sector. We underline the significance of acknowledging and using DPC as a significant and distinct asset for English educational institutions to survive in a digitally driven landscape by including the RBV theory in our framework. This perspective allows the study to offer insightful information about how strategic investments into digital capabilities might promote long-term creative thinking and competitive benefits for educational institutions, in particular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
5. Discussion
The current paper suggested a mediated moderating model to investigate the association between digital platform capability and innovation performance via digital innovation. For this purpose, in this research, we linked DPC to innovation performance. Furthermore, the mediating role of digital innovation between DPC and IP was also examined. The moderating role of digital technology in the linkage between DPC and IP was also checked. Through focusing on English educational institutions, we gathered 435 valid questionnaires, tested our theoretical assumptions through an empirical analysis, and explored several interesting conclusions.
To accomplish the research objectives, three hypotheses were proposed to explore relationship among DPC, DI, DT, and IP. Regarding H1, a direct positive association between DPC and IP was suggested. It was found that DPC has a considerably positive influence on English educational institutions’ innovation performance. The outcomes were congruent with previous studies’ findings that a digital platform could enable an organization to acquire resources, obtain great strategic flexibility, and vital significant interaction proposals, allowing organizations to use the technical characteristics of DPC to acquire and incorporate key resources [
24]. Hence, with an improvement in their digital platform capability, enterprises can more efficiently improve their innovation performance with resource interaction from digital platforms [
25]. Secondly, the empirical findings revealed that digital innovation mediates the linkage between DPC and innovation performance. That is, it allows for cooperative, combined problem solving and the flexible ability to create adjustments with digitalization, performing a mediating role in the relationship between DPC and innovation performance. Educational English institutions with a strong DPC can efficiently use a huge amount of resources collected from platforms to deal with emergent challenges and insufficient organizational resources. The improved efficiency of digital innovation assists in increasing the speed of innovative service development and obtaining the benefits of first entry into the market, therefore improving innovation performance. All at once, DPC emphasizes that an organization can attain a high innovation performance through embedding and implementing digital innovation. These results are consistent with prior findings that a digital platform and its applications become resources of advanced knowledge and information in an organization [
31]. Likewise, digital innovation allows enterprises to seek opportunities that assist in innovation activities primarily linked with innovation performance [
32]. If an enterprise is capable of obtaining a better digital platform capability in organizing its digital technologies, it has a high probability of building up the latest digital solutions so as to improve its innovation performance [
33]. Regarding H3, the outcomes verified that digital technology provides critical innovation information about infrastructure for innovative activities, in order to enhance innovation performance. In conclusion, this study proposed that digital innovation moderates the linkage between DPC and innovation performance. This paper’s outcomes corroborate that the impact of DPC on innovation performance is moderated by digital technology. The findings support the work of preceding researchers that digitalization increases the significance of digital technology within the operational activities of business enterprises. Enterprises make use of digital technologies that permit them to rapidly obtain a high volume of knowledge and the latest information [
42]. DPC shows the ability of an organization to organize its information technologies jointly with its inside and outside resources [
22].
5.1. Theoretical Implications
The current research has some valuable theoretical contributions relating to innovation value. First of all, the key input of the current research was the testing of the outstanding role of DPC as a determinant of innovation performance, predominantly from the perspective of English educational institutions. This paper evidenced a broad explanation for boosting the innovation performance of educational English institutions, which was, until this time, adequately valued in the modern literature. Secondly, this study contributes to the existing literature body of research on innovation performance models for the English educational institutions sector. The innovation performance model presented how the integrated critical aspects of businesses, that is, DPC, digital innovation, and digital technology, determine innovation performance. Thirdly, this study indicated a review of DPC in developing digital innovation. Digital innovation is a significant mechanism of enterprises concerning the exploration of novel opportunities, which support the achievement of innovation. In the prior literature, there were limited deliberations on role of digital innovation in the outcomes of DPC; thus, this study fills a gap in the prior literature knowledge and focused on DPC as a prospective determinant of IP as an outcome of digital innovation. Lastly, this study proposed digital technology as a moderator to provide a better understanding about the sustainability of DPC. This study proved how English educational institutions use DPC to adopt digital innovation and therefore improve their innovation performance, broadening the edges of the influence of DPC on this innovation performance. In this manner, this work contributes to the literature knowledge on English educational institutions’ participation in digital platforms.
5.2. Practical Implications
The findings of this study will provide policymakers and administrators with a number of useful recommendations for ensuring the long-term viability of educational English institutions. To begin with, studies performed recently have shown that companies who use DPC are able to innovate better. By doing so, businesses can only accomplish innovative performance if they have access to the necessary digital technology resources for information. DPC may also be seen as a considerably superior reaction in the ever-changing IP environment, making it a prime candidate for the application of the best innovation techniques. Thus, we advocated for the establishment of a clear idea of DPC within educational institution administrations and the use of digital platforms by small- and medium-sized businesses, in order to gain an advantage in the market. For this reason, we stressed the importance of companies maintaining a healthy DPC and actively engaging with digital platforms. The capacity to exploit digital technologies, such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, has become a critical component for enterprises seeking to improve their core competitive advantage since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Enterprises may better use resources from a variety of platform players, generate more innovative value, and establish a sustainable competitive advantage by cultivating and developing DPC via ongoing learning.
Second, once an organization has joined the digital platform, we urge them to aggressively seek out opportunities for collaboration and digital innovation. To help businesses to achieve digital innovation via communication and engagement and strengthen their competitive edge, digital platforms can effectively combine and virtualize a big number of resources. Third, consideration should be given to the evolution of platform governance systems by both platform owners and key players. Our research indicates that efficient digital technology improves companies’ intellectual property. As a result, platform leaders can entice more academic institutions to join their digital platforms by establishing a robust governance system that lays out ground rules for platform subjects’ interactions, sanctions for exploitative behavior, incentives for creative endeavors, and control over data.
5.3. Limitations and Future Research
Although the existing body of knowledge has some useful theoretical and practical implications, it also has a number of deficiencies that might point the way to future studies. Originally, this study solely focused on Chinese universities; however, future research may expand its scope to include schools from other nations. Second, the data came from educational English institutions; future research may draw from a wider range of industries. Finally, quantitative research was used to look at how DPC affects digital innovation and innovation performance. However, a qualitative analysis might be used in the future to shed light on the underlying factors of this. Moreover, this research employed a cross-sectional approach to evaluate the predicted model; however, future studies might benefit from a longitudinal design in order to more accurately identify the impact that DPC has on innovation performance via digital innovation.