Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Eco-Innovation Level of China’s Marine Economy

Ye-Cheng Wang, Ye-Ying Wang and Yi-Pin Fan ()
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Ye-Cheng Wang: Institute of Marine Economics and Management, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China
Ye-Ying Wang: International Business College, Shandong Technology and Business University, Yantai 264000, China
Yi-Pin Fan: College of Management, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 12, 1-24

Abstract: This paper aims to provide a reliable basis for formulating, revising, and selecting sustainable marine economic development plans through a scientific and comprehensive evaluation of the eco-innovation level of China’s marine economy. Based on the analysis of the three-stage theoretical model of marine economic eco-innovation, an index system for evaluating the eco-innovation level of China’s marine economy is first constructed. Also, an integration EWM-HDEMATEL method that balances objective and subjective weighting is introduced to determine the index weights. The proposed methods are applied to analyze the temporal and spatial variations in the eco-innovation level of China’s marine economy in 2006–2021, and the following conclusions are drawn. First, between 2006 and 2021, the average level of marine economic ecological innovation across all regions exhibited a steady upward trajectory. Second, regional imbalances in ecological innovation intensified over the study period, with the maximum disparity widening from a 1.6-fold difference in 2006 to a 2.5-fold difference in 2021. Third, although differences among the three principal marine economic zones were not pronounced, significant heterogeneity persisted within each zone, underscoring the need for targeted policies and interventions to achieve coordinated development. Fourth, regions performed better on the support environment and performance dimensions of marine economic ecological innovation than on the capacity and activity dimensions. These findings identify critical leverage points for policy action and carry important implications for promoting the balanced and sustainable development of marine economic ecological innovation efficiency.

Keywords: eco-innovation level; marine economy; spatiotemporal dynamics; entropy weighting method; hierarchical DEMATEL method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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