Corporate innovation is an important topic in the academic community, but there are few studies on the impact of the micro operation environment on corporate innovation. Using the data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2009 to 2020, this paper examines the impact of environmental uncertainty on enterprise innovation from a micro perspective. The results show that there is an overall negative correlation between environmental uncertainty and corporate innovation. Companies facing a higher degree of environmental uncertainty are more cautious in their innovation investment. We also find that this negative correlation was more pronounced in companies with weaker risk-taking ability. Further research finds that financing constraints have a partial intermediary effect on the impact of environmental uncertainty on innovation, that is, environmental uncertainty can have a negative impact on innovation by increasing the financing constraints faced by corporations. Our research provides micro-level evidence for the impact of uncertainty on corporate innovation.

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