Breakthrough inventions in China: the role of intra- and inter-regional collaboration and local knowledge base

Tao Jiang

Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 2025, vol. 34, issue 6, 938-969

Abstract: Recently, the prevalent recommendation for industrialised regions is to diversify their local knowledge base through intra- and inter-regional collaborations, to maintain a competitive advantage in dynamic regional economies. However, this has resulted in a series of policies that lean towards a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Theoretically, regions with varying local knowledge bases should follow unique technological trajectories. In this context, this article intends to examine the impact of collaboration, as well as its interaction effects with the local knowledge base, on the likelihood of breakthrough inventions. Our key findings, derived from a 15-year panel dataset (2002–2016) covering 200 prefecture-level cities in China, include: (1) Intra-regional collaboration and a balanced mix of intra- and inter-regional collaboration both positively influence the likelihood of breakthrough inventions; (2) The potential for breakthrough inventions depends on the interplay between collaboration and the local knowledge base. Specifically, internal collaboration is more beneficial for diversified regions, external collaboration aids more specialised regions, and both inter-regional collaboration or balanced mix of intra- and inter-regional collaboration can enhance the probability of breakthrough inventions for cities with a complex knowledge base. Our study holds significant implications for regional development, proposing a viable technological trajectory to mitigate path dependency.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/10438599.2024.2389253 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:ecinnt:v:34:y:2025:i:6:p:938-969

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/GEIN20

DOI: 10.1080/10438599.2024.2389253

Access Statistics for this article

Economics of Innovation and New Technology is currently edited by Professor Cristiano Antonelli

More articles in Economics of Innovation and New Technology from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().