Factors Synergy, Network Structure and Innovation Capability in the Yangtze River Economic Zone

Abstract

The allocation of innovation factors inside and outside the city directly affects the city’s innovation capability. Based on the panel data of 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Zone from 2009 to 2018, the revised gravity model is used to measure the synergy of factors between cities, construct a coordinated spatial connection network of oriented factors, use SNA to describe the network structure, and combine the spatial error model to study the synergy of factors, The relationship between network structure and innovation capability shows that: (1)The coordinated development of factors within cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is a “core-periphery” structure with municipalities and provincial capitals as the core. This synergy of factors is positively promoting the improvement of urban innovation capabilities; (2) The synergy of factors among cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is gradually increasing. This kind of synergy is conducive to the spatial spillover of knowledge, and has an “inverted U-shaped” relationship with the city’s innovation capabilities; (3)The synergy of factors has a greater polarization effect The cities in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River are the main sources of innovation factors, and the middle-stream cities play more role as channels; (4)The improvement of the status of the city network structure promotes the improvement of its own innovation ability, but the network structure and the synergy of factors have an impact on the innovation ability has a negative interaction effect.