Abstract: In the open innovation context, how firms participating in alliances affect firms’ sustainable innovation has become an urgent issue to be addressed. Based on the 2-mode alliance innovation network perspective, this paper uses the cooperation data of China’s high-tech firms alliances from 2009 to 2018 and the comprehensive feasible generalized least squares method to explore the internal mechanism of how centrality influences firms’ sustainable innovation and the relevant boundary conditions. The study reaches the following conclusions. Centrality has an inverted U-shaped relationship with firms’ sustainable innovation and technological influence; Technical influence plays a mediating role in the inverted U-shaped relationship between centrality and firms’ sustainable innovation; Both environmental responsibility and corporate resilience play a positive moderating role in the inverted U-shaped relationship between centrality and technical influence, between centrality and firms’ sustainable innovation; However, the above relationship is not the same in the samples of different firm life cycle stages and firms that has or has not passed ISO9001 certification. The research conclusions can provide theoretical guidance for high-tech firms to participate in alliance decision-making, enhance technological influence, and then realize firms’ sustainable innovation.

Key words: centrality, technical influence, firms’ sustainable innovation, environmental responsibility, corporate resilience