Research on the mechanism of government subsidy on enterprise innovation based on industry-university-research collaboration

Abstract

This paper provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the relationship between government subsidies, enterprise innovation, and Industry-University-Research (IUR) collaboration. The study begins with a theoretical analysis of the impact of government subsidies on IUR collaboration and enterprise innovation, employing a dynamic game model. Secondly, the research sample comprises A-share listed enterprises in China, and the theoretical findings are validated through empirical methods. Moreover, this study investigates the mediating influence of IUR collaboration and the heterogenous impacts of government subsidies. Research has shown that government subsidies can facilitate enterprises in establishing IUR collaboration, enhancing the extent of IUR collaboration, and effectively stimulating enterprises to participate in innovation. Government subsidies have a more pronounced impact on non-state-owned enterprises, high-tech enterprises, and enterprises in eastern regions in terms of incentivization. By enhancing IUR upgrade, government subsidies can offset the shortcomings in limited Research and Experimental Development (R&D) funding and inadequate technical reserves of non-high-technology enterprises. This could result in an improvement in the quality of innovation and the performance of the subsidized enterprises.