Drivers for inter-city innovation networks across Chinese cities: Modelling physical versus intangible effects

This study aims to explore the role of intangible drivers in the formation of inter-city innovation network in developing countries like China. We mobilize original data on inter- city innovation networks reflected in co-patents collected for the time period 2007-2018. A network analytical approach is used to explore the evolution of the innovation networks, while we specify spatial interaction models to estimate the relationship between collaboration intensity and intangible characteristics of the cities.

The initial results are promising. First, ICT gap among cities has negative effect, while the ICT development itself shows prominent role in promoting cross-region innovation collaboration. Second, the study reveals the existence of preferential attachment; the network structure has an increasingly positive effect. The result has great importance for analysing future innovation collaboration pattern in China. As the Chinese government has launched a wave of digital infrastructure construction since 2020. Especially, it pays much attention to the balanced development of digitalization in western regions. In 2022, China approved the construction of eight national computing hubs, of which five hubs are located in the western region. ICT development will reshape Chinese economic geography in the near future. The balanced development of ICT may give periphery regions more opportunities to access external knowledge. Apart from this, the network structural effect gives some thinking on how to change the unbalanced collaboration among regions in China. Like what is happening in some leading regions like Yangtze River Delta, local government should take more measures to build cross-region innovation platforms and construct cooperation framework agreements to promote coordinated regional innovation.