Regional Innovation Performance Research Articles

Evaluation of regional green innovation performance in China using a support vector machine-based model optimized by the chaotic grey wolf algorithm

Evaluation of regional green innovation performance in China using a support vector machine-based model optimized by the chaotic grey wolf algorithm

Proximity and regional innovation performance: the mediating role of absorptive capacity

Purpose Proximity is a crucial factor influencing innovation collaboration and performance. Most existing studies have primarily focused on the organizational level and been static in nature. Therefore, a further study on how proximity affects innovation performance is needed. This paper aims to fill this gap by highlighting the organizational, cognitive and geographical proximity in China’s open regional innovation system. Design/methodology/approach This paper analyzes the data from 2010 to 2015 through path analysis. Findings The results reveal that geographical proximity has a direct positive effect on regional innovation performance in China’s regional innovation system. It also shows that organizational proximity exerts a negative impact on absorptive capacity, and through it adversely affects regional innovation performance. In contrast, cognitive proximity is found to have a positive effect on absorptive capacity, enhancing regional innovation performance. Originality/value Based on these findings, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of proximity in innovation collaboration and performance. By highlighting the importance of different proximity types, it provides insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to foster regional innovation.

Beyond funding: The moderating role of firms' R&D human capital on government support and venture capital for regional innovation in China

Technological innovation is a cornerstone of economic growth. It is a crucial determinant of regions' competitiveness, especially for rapidly developing emerging economies. Past research remained inconclusive on whether venture capital and government subsidies to firms have a significant effect on innovation performance at the regional level. In this article, we show the determining role of investment by firms in R&D human capital. We use panel data from 31 provinces in China, covering the period 1999–2015. The results reveal that government support for firms and venture capital do not have a significant direct impact on regional innovation performance. This effect is strongly moderated by R&D human capital. The findings of this study offer practical implications for policymakers and private investors, guiding them on how to maximize the efficiency of their R&D investments for regional economic growth. They also show the importance of investment in R&D human capital for the management of technology and innovation at the firm level.

The Influence of New Energy Industry Agglomeration on Regional Green Innovation Performance—Evidence from China

The advance of the new energy industry and the promotion of green innovation are both important ways to solve environmental pollution and achieve economic green transformation, and there may be a non-negligible intrinsic connection between the two. Utilizing panel data covering the period from 2011 to 2021, encompassing 30 provinces and cities in China, this study measures agglomeration levels of the new energy sector and green innovation performance in each region. Via the application of the fixed-effect model and spatial Durbin model, this study empirically examines the impact mechanism of green innovation performance resulting from the agglomeration of the new energy industry. This investigation discloses that there is regional heterogeneity in China’s new energy industry agglomeration level, with the highest level observed in the western region. The distribution of green innovation performance forms an “East–Middle–West” ladder pattern, with both the central and western regions falling below the national average. Agglomeration of the new energy sector exerts a non-linear, “U-shaped” influence on green innovation performance, demonstrating conspicuous regional heterogeneity; opening up positively moderates the “positive U-shaped” correlation between new energy agglomeration and green innovation performance. A clear spatial spillover effect characterizes the agglomeration of the new energy industry, demonstrating a non-linear “inverted U-shaped” influence on the green innovation performance of surrounding regions. This paper aims to offer policy insights into the establishment of developmental layouts for the new energy industry in China while simultaneously providing practical references for enhancing regional green innovation performance.

Enhancing SME innovation across European regions: Success factors in EU-funded open innovation networks

This study examines the funding allocations to Open Innovation (OI) networks involving small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) and other organizational actors by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation program (2018–2021). Using a unique dataset of program application information at the participant level, the technological, organizational and locational characteristics of SMEs' OI innovation networks are analyzed. Success in securing funding is found to be linked to host regional innovation performance and to technological distance among SMEs and their partners, while organizational distance has a curvilinear effect. Counter to program objectives, partner heterogeneity has some mixed effects. Insights are offered for SMEs on strategic positioning and to policymakers on the design of future innovation policy initiatives.

Climate policy uncertainty and regional innovation performance: New empirical evidence from the United States

AbstractThis study aims to explore the empirical relationship between climate policy uncertainty (CPU) and regional innovation performance. The empirical analysis was conducted on 36 years of available data over the period 1987 to 2022 in the United States (US). By using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model for regression analysis, we examine the impact of CPU on two crucial indicators of innovation, namely, research and development (R&D) expenditures and patent applications (PTA). The empirical analysis reveals a significant negative effect of CPU on both R&D expenditures and PTA, suggesting that higher levels of climate uncertainty may hinder innovation activities in the regional context. A high CPU introduces hesitancy and risk aversion, impacting the allocation of resources, confidence in markets, and the willingness of businesses to pursue innovative endeavors. The negative effect remains consistent even after the inclusion of several control variables and robustness checks. The findings underscore the significance of a stable and supportive policy environment and economic conditions in promoting innovation. Overall, this research provides valuable empirical evidence on the interplay between CPU and innovation outcomes, offering insights for policymakers, businesses, and researchers seeking to navigate the complexities of climate‐related challenges and their impact on innovation. We did not find any study exploring the comparable impact of CPU on innovation.

The contribution of enterprises, universities, and research institutes to regional innovation efficiency in China

ABSTRACT This study estimated the contribution of three innovation entities – enterprises, universities, and research institutes – to regional innovation performance and investigated the impact of several exogenous environmental variables on regional innovation efficiency. Stochastic frontier models were employed, and the sample consisted of panel data from 30 provinces and municipalities in China between 2010 and 2021. The results demonstrated that the three innovation entities contributed to regional innovation performance; however, the elastic coefficients of universities and enterprises were higher than those of research institutes, suggesting that China did not shift from a research institute- to enterprise-centered innovation system. The impact of several exogenous environmental variables, such as regional openness, government support, and information infrastructure, on innovation performance varied across regions.

Research on the Influence of the Development of Digital Finance on Regional Innovation Performance

The improvement of regional innovation performance plays an important role in promoting high-quality economic development, while digital finance digitally reforms traditional finance and empowers regional innovation ability from the financial field. Based on the panel data of 31 provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2011 to 2020, this paper studies the impact of the development of digital finance on regional innovation performance by using random effect model. The results show that the development of digital finance will stimulate regional innovation, and there is a positive correlation between them, and this result still holds after the robustness test and endogenous test. Robustness analysis shows that the phenomenon of digital finance promoting regional innovation performance is not significant in the eastern region, but significant in the central and western regions. Finally, on the basis of the research conclusion, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to establish regional coordinated innovation mechanism, promote the construction of digital infrastructure and strengthen the risk management of digital finance. This paper enriches the relevant research on the influence of digital finance development on regional innovation performance, and provides theoretical basis and policy reference for digital finance to promote the improvement of regional innovation level.

Evaluation of Chinese healthcare organizations' innovative performance in the digital health era.

Healthcare workers' relationship with industry is not merely an agent mediating between consumer and vendor, but they are also inventors of the interventions they exist to deliver. Driven by the background of the digital health era, scientific research and technological (Sci-tech) innovation in the medical field are becoming more and more closely integrated. However, scholars shed little light on Sci-tech relevance to evaluate the innovation performance of healthcare organizations, a distinctive feature of healthcare organizations' innovation in the digital health era. Academic publications and patents are the manifestations of scientific research outputs and technological innovation outcomes, respectively. The study extracted data from publications and patents of 159 hospitals in China to evaluate their innovation performance. A total of 18 indicators were constructed, four of which were based on text similarity match and represented the Sci-tech relevance. We then applied factor analyses, analytical hierarchy process, and logistic regression to construct an evaluation model. We also examined the relationship between hospitals' innovation performance and their geographical locations. Finally, we implemented a mediation analysis to show the influence of digital health on hospital innovation performance. A total of 16 indicators were involved, four of which represented the Sci-tech including the number of articles matched per patent (NAMP), the number of patents matched per article (NPMA), the proportion of highly matched patents (HMP), and the proportion of highly matched articles (HMA). Indicators of HMP (r = 0.52, P = 2.40 × 10-12), NAMP (r = 0.52, P = 2.54 × 10-12), and NPMA (r = 0.51, P = 5.53 × 10-12) showed a strong positive correlation with hospital innovation performance score. The evaluation model in this study was different from other Chinese existing hospital ranking systems. The regional innovation performance index (RIP) of healthcare organizations is highly correlated with per capita disposable income (r = 0.58) and regional GDP (r = 0.60). There was a positive correlation between digital health innovation performance scores and overall hospital innovation performance scores (r = 0.20). In addition, the hospitals' digital health innovation performance affected the hospital's overall innovation score with the mediation of Sci-tech relevance indicators (NPMA and HMA). The hospitals' digital health innovation performance score showed a significant correlation with the number of healthcare workers (r = 0.44). This study constructed an assessment model with four invented indicators focusing on Sci-tech relevance to provide a novel tool for researchers to evaluate the innovation performance of healthcare organizations in the digital health era. The regions with high RIP were concentrated on the eastern coastal areas with a higher level of economic development. Therefore, the promotion of scientific and technological innovation policies could be carried out in advance in areas with better economic development. The innovations in the digital health field by healthcare workers enhance the Sci-tech relevance in hospitals and boost their innovation performance. The development of digital health in hospitals depends on the input of medical personnel.

Impact of green technology and regional market orientation on innovation performance of SMEs in China: Contextual analysis of structural and relational embeddedness

The swift development and implementation of technology have forced enterprises in China to constantly enhance their capabilities to accomplish innovation objectives. In response to the need to improve innovation performance to stay competitive in the industry, enterprises in the region of Jiangsu have adopted a green technology orientation to develop sustainable technologies and regional market orientation to fulfil the needs and wants of environment‐conscious customers. This study assessed the relationship between green technology and regional market orientation and innovation performance and the moderating role of structural and relational embeddedness. The study performed a quantitative assessment using a survey method to collect data. This study gathered data from 386 respondents from small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) from Jiangsu, which showed that both green technology and regional market orientation are essential predictors of innovation performance. Moreover, this study found a substantial moderating impact of structural and relational embeddedness on the relationship between green technology and regional market orientation and innovation performance of SMEs. The current study has several practical implications for leaders of SMEs to enhance their innovation performance.

Digital Inclusive Finance and Regional Innovation Performance

Digital inclusive finance is a new industry generated by inclusive finance in the context of the development of big data and the Internet. The development of digital inclusive finance promotes regional innovation, while the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure and the development of financial agglomeration provide good external conditions for the development of digital inclusive finance and regional innovation. Based on panel data from 248 prefectures from 2011-2019, this paper examines the impact of digital inclusive finance on regional innovation and the moderating role of the advanced development of industrial structure and financial agglomeration in this promotion process at the prefecture level. The study finds that digital inclusive finance promotes regional innovation; in terms of the transmission mechanism of the effect, it is found that the advanced industrial structure and financial agglomeration can strengthen the promotion effect of digital inclusive finance on regional innovation. Therefore, the development of digital inclusive finance can be promoted in terms of industrial structure optimisation and attracting financial agglomeration to enhance China's regional innovation performance.

The impact of environmental regulations on the performance of regional collaborative innovation-in case of China's 30 provinces.

With rapid economic growth in the twenty-first century, innovation has become an essential component of national development, and industry-university-research regional collaborative innovation is the key to implementing China's innovation plan. Using panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China (excluding Tibet Autonomous Region) from 2011 to 2018, this paper employs the two-stage dynamic DEA model to develop a rating index system of regional collaborative innovation performance, which is divided into knowledge innovation stage and technology innovation stage, and measures the collaborative innovation efficiency of 30 provinces in China. The environmental regulation score is then determined by using the entropy method. Finally, an experimental application of the panel Tobit model is conducted to investigate the impact mechanism of environmental regulation on regional collaborative innovation. The results reveal that the collaborative innovation efficiency values of the majority of provinces are between 0.5 and 0.7, leaving ample room for growth. When the efficiency value of collaborative innovation is broken down by region, the eastern, central, and western regions show a pattern of "rising in the east, stable in the center, and falling in the west." The findings of the Tobit regression reveal that the effect of environmental regulation on regional collaborative innovation performance follows a "U"-shaped distribution, confirming the "Porter Hypothesis." This study proposes remedies and proposals to enhance regional collaborative innovation performance from the perspective of environmental regulation.

The Diaspora’s influence on Regional Innovation Performance – a new theoretical and empirical approach toward understanding it

Abstract The occurrences of “brain-gain” and “brain-loss” are significant concerns for both the countries experiencing the departure of intellectual talent and those that ultimately receive such individuals. The phenomenon holds significance for stakeholders and their policy recommendations on social, economic and political areas. Moreover, there exists extensive literature elucidating the reasons behind certain nations encountering the phenomenon of “brain loss” while simultaneously observing the return of individuals to their homelands. Simultaneously, there is a limited amount of research conducted regarding the observation and comprehension of the activities in which the returning diaspora is involved post their return. Even more, there is less research done on the way the return diaspora is influencing regional innovation performance. To enhance comprehension, this article introduces a novel theoretical and empirical approach aimed at understanding the engagement of the returning diaspora in the innovation process and its impact on regional innovation performance. The novelty of this approach consists in the combination of classical theories on returning diaspora, Regional Innovation Performance and Social Fields Theory. As a result, the focus will be on the combination of the three social forces (institutions, networks, and cognitive frames) and returning diaspora. The evaluation of diaspora’s impact on regional innovation performance primarily hinges on the combination and comprehension of these two factors. However, this article serves as a theoretical proposal aimed at enhancing understanding of the phenomenon and establishing a model for systematic data collection. The empirical results could lead to policy recommendations for various stakeholders and bring improvements for helping and encouraging innovation activities in the region.

R&D investment and regional innovation performance – threshold effects based on intellectual property protection

ABSTRACT Based on the panel data of 24 provinces and cities in China from 2009 to 2017, this paper uses panel threshold regression model with regional intellectual property protection intensity as the threshold variable to investigate the effect of R&D investment on regional innovation performance from two perspectives of human resource investment and R&D funding investment with different threshold effects. The results show that human resource investment and R&D investment have a significant contribution to regional innovation performance with a lag of three periods, and there is a significant double threshold effect. The optimal intellectual property protection intensity range of human resource input on regional innovation performance promotion is (0.8698, 0.8712). The optimal intellectual property protection intensity range for R&D investment on regional innovation performance is (0.8698, 0.8781), and R&D investment on regional innovation performance shows an increasing and then decreasing effect. This paper constructs a system of indicators to measure the intensity of intellectual property protection in China based on the “dual-track parallelism” of intellectual property protection management in China. It also measures the intensity of intellectual property protection in each region of China. A non-linear relationship between R&D investment, intellectual property protection and regional innovation is found.

Impact of innovation network on regional innovation performance: do network density, network openness and network strength have any influence?

Purpose With the development of regional economy, innovation network plays an increasingly prominent role in reducing regional innovation cost and enabling information, knowledge and capital flow and diffusion. Building an efficient innovation network has become a feasible way to improve regional innovation capabilities and performance. Thus, under the background of Chinese special triple helix structure, the specific mechanism of innovation network characteristics on regional innovation performance is still an issue that needs to be studied urgently. Design/methodology/approach This study conducts a multi-level regression analysis regional innovation panel data of China from the past four years to explore how the three dimensions of innovation network characteristics (i.e. network density, openness and strength) affect regional innovation performance. Findings The results show that there is an inverted-U relationship exists between network density and regional innovation performance. The network openness and regional innovation performance show a significantly positive relationship and a U-shaped relationship exists between network strength and regional innovation performance. Research limitations/implications First, this study examines the relationship between network density, openness, strength and innovation ability in the network variable structure. However, this study does not analyze how absorptive capacity impacts the network structure and innovation performance of regional innovators. Second, innovation network intensity largely varies according to different types of enterprises or industries. Therefore, future studies can attempt to analyze the relationship between innovation network and innovation performance on the basis of the industry or the enterprise itself. Fourth, this study does not consider the change in the influence of innovation network structure on innovation ability. Practical implications The results of this study provide insights for the formulation of the regional innovation policy. First, enterprises must maintain good contact with research institutes, universities and technology intermediaries and promote resource, information and money flow between networks through formal and informal interactions. Enterprises can currently only interact with a limited number of innovative subjects due to their limited resources. Therefore, we should continue implementing the open policy of foreign capital utilization and absorb the technology, knowledge, management, ideas, talent and other resource advantages in the world. The investment environment in the central and western regions should be improved as soon as possible to guide foreign direct investments to the middle and the west part of China, thereby promoting the coordinated development of regional innovation ability and economy. Social implications In 2015, the Chinese Government proposed “public entrepreneurship and innovation,” including technological, institutional, management and mode innovations. This study suggests that innovation subjects in the region should establish an interactive and dynamic innovation network among innovators. Originality/value The innovation of this study lies in the analysis of the characteristics of innovation network that significantly affect regional innovation performance, the exploration of different stages of innovation network construction path and provide theoretical guidance for the construction of innovation network.

The Impact of Sustainable Input on Regional Innovation Performance: Moderating Effects of Policy Support and Cultural Value

Innovation, an internal drive promoting regional sustainable economic development, has received great attention around the world. The goal of this paper is to explore the relationship between sustainable input and regional innovation performance under the moderating effects of policy support and cultural value in various regions in China. This paper uses Schwartz’s cultural dimensions and data from 31 Chinese provinces (2006–2018) to empirically examine the relationships of interest. Based on the 403 total samples, the results reveal that innovation input has a significantly positive impact on regional innovation performance, and policy support positively moderates the relationship between regional innovation input and innovation performance. Further, with regard to cultural values, embeddedness (vs. autonomy) negatively moderates the relationship between sustainable input and innovation performance, while egalitarianism (vs. hierarchy) and mastery (vs. harmony) positively moderate this relationship. We discuss the implications of our findings for policy.

Strategic leadership, environmental optimisation, and regional innovation performance with the regional innovation system coupling synergy degree: evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact mechanism of the government’s strategic leadership (SL) and environmental optimisation (EO) on the improvement of regional innovation performance (RIP) under the effects of the regional innovation system coupling synergy degree (RISCSD). Based on the nonlinear threshold regression model, the coupling synergy model and entropy value method, the threshold regression analysis is conducted by calculating the RISCSD. The results indicate that: under the effect of the RISCSD, the SL, EO, and RIP have distinct single and double threshold effects. With the improvement of RISCSD, the influence of SL on RIP has changed from inhibition to promotion; while the promotion effect of EO on RIP shows an upward trend at first, and then slightly weakening. This paper provides relevant policy suggestions for local public administrations to enhance RIP.

Leveraging diverse ecosystem partners for innovation: the roles of regional innovation environment and partnership heterogeneity

Although prior studies investigated the influence of partner diversity on focal firms’ innovation performance, they failed to consider partners’ ecosystem positions and the roles of regional innovation environment and partnership heterogeneity. To fill these gaps, this study examines the relationship between supplier diversity, customer diversity, regional innovation environment, partnership heterogeneity and innovation performance to provide a comprehensive and throughout understanding of the influence of partner diversity on innovation performance. Based on data of 188 Chinese manufacturing firms, this article finds that both diversities of upstream suppliers and that of downstream customers contribute to innovation performance. Regional innovation environment and partnership heterogeneity moderate the influences of supplier diversity and customer diversity on innovation performance. In a favourable regional innovation environment, the benefits of diverse upstream suppliers for innovation are eroded, while the benefits of diverse downstream customers for innovation are enhanced. Partnership heterogeneity with suppliers can mitigate the moderating effect of regional innovation environment on the relationship between supplier diversity and innovation performance. These findings advance the literature on partner diversity and innovation performance, thus providing fine-grained managerial implications to firms to orchestrate diverse inter-organizational partners for innovation.

Psychological Openness and the Emergence of Breakthrough vs. Incremental Innovations: A Regional Perspective

Breakthrough innovations are expected to have a bigger impact on local economies than incremental innovations do. Yet past research has largely neglected the regional drivers of breakthrough innovations. Building on theories that highlight the role of personality psychology and human agency in shaping regional innovation cultures, we focus on psychological openness as a potential explanation for why some regions produce more breakthrough innovations than others do. We use a large data set of psychological personality profiles (∼1.26M individuals) to estimate the openness of people in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the US. Our results reveal that psychological openness is strongly associated with the emergence of breakthrough innovations but not with the emergence of incremental innovations. The findings remained robust after controlling for an extensive set of predictors of regional innovation such as star inventors, star scientists, or knowledge diversity. The results held even when we used tolerance as an alternative indicator of openness. Taken together, our results provide robust evidence that openness is relevant for regional innovation performance, serving as an important predictor for breakthrough innovations but not for incremental innovations.

Government as a non-financial participant in innovation: How standardization led by government promotes regional innovation performance in China

Chinese provincial governments choose to become active and leading participants in standardization projects rather than opt out of them. As most extant literatures focus on the effect of standardization without government intervention, a research question then arises whether standardization with government's lead could increase the output of innovation product like patent within a region. By investigating the case of China's standardization at provincial level, this study attempts to explore the association between standardization led by government and regional innovation performance. A series of panel data analyses shows the following. (1) Increasing the supply of local standards by provincial government significantly promotes the innovation performances of the cities in this province. (2) Policy of provincial governments to disclose standard content freely also benefit the cities' innovation performances in these particular provinces. (3) The fiscal investment of city government in science and technology positively moderates the effect of provincial government's lead in local standardization on the city's innovation performance. These results suggest that besides financial sponsorship, government could also directly contribute to innovation in a non-financial way by leading standardization. Our study adds to the discussion about government's possible roles in innovation.