The impact of government support and market competition on China's high-tech industry innovation efficiency as an emerging market

Abstract

With the building of an innovative country in an emerging market, the role of government support (GS) and market competition (MC) in the innovation efficiency of China's high-tech industry (HTI) has become increasingly prominent. Considering innovation value chain (IVC) theory, based on 2004–2016 panel data covering 30 regional HTIs in mainland China, the spatial autoregressive (SAR) Tobit model, stepwise regression method with spatial factors, and threshold panel model are applied to examine the main effects, moderating effects, mediating effects, and nonlinear effects of GS and MC on the innovation efficiency of China's HTI. GS significantly inhibits the industry's technological development efficiency but promotes its innovation achievement transformation efficiency. However, the impact of MC on the industry's technological innovation efficiency has stage homogeneity, significantly promoting both stages of innovation efficiency. Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) exerts a significant moderating effect on GS and technological development efficiency. The transmission mechanism test reveals that technology market development (TMD) has a partial mediating effect between GS and technological development efficiency, while a masking effect exists between MC and technological development efficiency. A complete mediating effect exists between GS and innovation achievement transformation efficiency, while a partial mediating effect exists between MC and innovation achievement transformation efficiency. Regional heterogeneity is apparent. Of note, the impact of MC on the industry's technological development and innovation achievement transformation efficiency has a nonlinear effect based on GS.