“…We also find that such positive effects are more pronounced among state-owned, larger and high-performing firms, as well as in regions where protection of intellectual property rights is higher. These findings provides novel evidence on the functions of such awards in driving and facilitating innovation at a time when governments are increasingly interested in employing competitive national innovation awards at firm and individual levels to encourage innovation (Marxt & Piekkola, 2007;Wessner, 2007). While the China Top Brand Award was short-lived, other official and national awards and schemes have flourished across different levels of government in China, showing strong demand and supply for such awards, recognitions and honours.…”