Abstract
In this study, we bridge an important gap in the literature by comparing the extent to which external technology spillovers, as indicated by foreign direct investment (FDI), and internal technology spillovers, as indicated by university-institute-industry cooperation (UIC), influence innovation efficiency in China. We divide the innovation process into two sequential stages, namely the knowledge creation and technology commercialization stages, and employ a network data envelopment analysis approach to measure innovation efficiency at each stage. The spatial analysis of the distribution of knowledge creation efficiency and technology commercialization efficiency reveals the heterogeneity of innovation efficiency at the provincial level. Then, a panel data regression is used to analyze the effect of FDI and UIC on innovation efficiency at each stage, using data from 2009 to 2015 for 30 provinces in China. By comparing FDI with UIC, we find that FDI has a higher coefficient and stronger significance level at the knowledge creation stage, while only industry-institute linkages exhibit a stronger association with innovation efficiency at the technology commercialization stage.
Highlights
In the knowledge era, innovation is recognized as a driving force of sustainable economic development and innovation-driven growth is no longer the prerogative of high-income countries alone [1,2]
The estimated innovation efficiency scores are briefly presented before their relations with foreign direct investment (FDI) and university-institute-industry cooperation (UIC) are analyzed
Panel econometric models were applied to compare the influence of FDI with that of UIC on innovation efficiency in each stage, based on a dataset of 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2015
Summary
Innovation is recognized as a driving force of sustainable economic development and innovation-driven growth is no longer the prerogative of high-income countries alone [1,2]. Against the backdrop of the “Silicon Valley Miracle” and “Cambridge Phenomenon”, the output and transformation of genuine innovations play a pivotal role in economic growth [4]. As China’s economic expansion has fallen to the so-called “new normal” pace [5], the pattern of heavy R&D investment in the long term is unsustainable, placing greater focus on increasing the contribution of innovation outputs to economic growth by improving innovation efficiency rather than the blind expansion of R&D expenditure. Improving innovation efficiency must be the focus of national efforts to allocate innovative resources reasonably and facilitate indigenous innovation in order to sustain economic growth
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