How Does Patient Capital Influence Key Digital Technology Innovation? A Dual Perspective of Pressure and Risk

In the context of increasingly intense digital competition, key digital technology innovation (KDTI) in enterprises urgently requires strategic support from patient capital (PC) with high risk tolerance. However, existing research has not yet thoroughly explored the pathways and boundary conditions through which heterogeneous PC affects KDTI. Drawing on the resource-based view and the attention-based view, this paper constructs a theoretical model from the dual perspectives of pressure and risk, introducing environmental regulatory pressure (ERP) and financial misallocation risk (FMR) as mediating variables, and government digital attention (GDA) as a moderating variable. Using panel data from China’s A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2023, empirical tests are conducted through mediation and moderation effect models. The findings reveal that SE significantly promotes KDTI, whereas RD exerts an inhibitory effect. Both ERP and FMR play partial mediating roles in these relationships. Furthermore, GDA not only strengthens the positive impact of SE but also amplifies the negative effects of ERP and FMR. The results illuminate the internal mechanisms through which heterogeneous patient capital influences firms’ KDTI via pressure and risk pathways, providing new insights for digital innovation policies and the optimization of corporate capital structures.