Strategic Imitation or Rational Learning? Peer Effects on R&D Innovation in Chinese New Energy Vehicle Enterprises

The global new energy vehicle (NEV) industry is undergoing accelerated technological iteration, forcing firms to confront uncertain technological trajectories, high R&D investment, and intensified innovation risks. Acquiring external knowledge to reduce trial-and-error costs has therefore become critical. Existing research predominantly examines policy support and internal firm resources, while paying insufficient attention to strategic interactions among firms. Drawing on peer effects, social learning, and information asymmetry theories, this study uses Chinese NEV enterprises as the research setting to examine how peer firms’ innovation behavior influences focal firms’ technological innovation decisions. The findings show a significant positive peer effect in NEV technological innovation: focal firms adjust their R&D decisions by observing peer firms. This influence is consistent with information transmission, experiential learning, and competitive pressure, with leading firms’ innovation practices providing particularly important technical references for followers. The intensity of the peer effect varies across firm characteristics and external environments. By examining how these conditions moderate peer effects, this study provides indirect evidence on whether the underlying mechanism is more consistent with information-driven rational learning or competition-driven strategic imitation. Notably, stronger competitive pressure (measured by a lower Herfindahl–Hirschman Index), greater financing constraints (measured by the absolute value of the SA index), and higher ownership concentration amplify peer influence, whereas economic policy uncertainty weakens it by reducing the reliability of external innovation signals. This study extends research on the determinants of technological innovation in the NEV sector from a corporate-interaction perspective, reveals the role of peer learning and strategic imitation in industrial technology upgrading, and offers theoretical foundations and practical implications for optimizing innovation strategies, enhancing technological competitiveness, and promoting coordinated industrial development.