Does science–industry cooperation policy enhance corporate innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms

Abstract

AbstractWe examine science–industry collaborations by identifying how academician workstations – joint platforms by listed firms and academicians under provincial governments – influence corporate innovation. We discover that academician workstations (i) significantly increase firms’ innovation input, quality and efficiency, even after controlling for endogeneity issues; (ii) primarily promote corporate innovation by attracting more talented human capital rather than through funding support; and (iii) are even more significant among state‐owned companies and large companies. These results indicate that government policies on bridging the gap between star scientists and firms could be an important non‐financial incentive to partially explain China’s rapidly growing capacity for innovation.