Network mechanisms of small worlds,structural holes and urban innovation:Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration
The importance of urban innovation networks as drivers of regional and urban innovation has attracted significant attention.From a regional perspective,urban innovation networks are defined as systems of urban nodes interconnected through patent collaboration among heterogeneous innovation agents.A growing number of studies have applied a network-analytics perspective to capture the structure and dynamics of urban innovation networks,which are viewed as channels through which knowledge can diffuse within and across cities.Although a rich literature devoted to these themes exists,it does not offer conclusive evidence of how network structures affect urban innovation capability.Especially in the context of development of the digital economy,the effect of urban innovation's network mechanism on urban innovation capability remains uninvestigated.Digital technology has compressed the space-time distance through efficient information transmission and facilitated the interconnection of cities and the flow of resources.The double overlay of the digital economy and innovation networks presents opportunities and challenges for urban innovation research.To address this issue,this study explores the impact of network structural attributes-small worlds and structural holes—on urban innovative capacity based on the ten-year panel data of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.The remainder of this paper is organized as follows.First,we develop the theoretical concepts subject to testing.This section examines the small worlds and structural holes,arguing why they matter for urban innovation capability,and elaborates on the corresponding hypotheses.Second,this study constructs urban innovation networks based on the 2009-2018 collaborative patent application data of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.Third,we describe the structural properties of innovation networks by employing the social network analysis method and selects small worlds and structural holes as explanatory variables;urban authorized invention patents with a one-period lag as the dependent variable;and the level of digital economy development as a moderating variable.Finally,this study uses a fixed-effects negative binomial regression model for empirical analysis to explore the influence of network structural properties(small worlds and structural holes)on the urban innovation as well as the level of digital economy development's moderating role in the relationship between small worlds,structural holes,and urban innovation capacity.The results yielded the following findings:First,the empirical results show that the small worlds of cities in urban innovation networks have an inverted U-shaped relationship with urban innovation capacity.This study expands our understanding of small worlds'impact on urban innovation capacity.Second,in most previous empirical literature,the moderating role of regional endowments,especially the digital economy,in the relationship between innovation networks and regional innovation performance remains unstudied.This study examines the digital economy's moderating effect on the relationship between small worlds and urban innovation capacity.The empirical results show that this inverted U-shaped relationship is positively moderated by the urban digital economic development level.In other words,the inverted U-shaped relationship between small worlds and urban innovation capacity was significantly enhanced when cities had a high-level digital economy.Third,structural holes in urban innovation networks have a significant positive impact on urban innovation capability.This clarifies the dispute over the effects of closed networks and structural holes from an urban perspective.This study makes three major contributions to the existing literature.First,it enriches the understanding of the interactions between innovation networks,interregional knowledge flows,and regional innovation performance.It expands the literature on innovation networks'impact on urban innovation performance from a network structure perspective and provides a novel perspective for theoretical studies that reveal the relationship between networks and regional innovation.Second,this study adds nuance to the previous single explanation of the relationship between small worlds and innovation performance;it provides city-level empirical evidence for interpreting theoretical disputes over the effects of closed networks and structural holes.Third,this study explores the moderating role of the relationship between innovation networks and regional knowledge production.By introducing the digital economy context,we establish a theoretical model of the transmission mechanism among small worlds,structural holes,and urban innovation capacity,deepening the understanding of urban innovation mechanisms.This study also provides policymakers with important management insights.First,the construction of small-group metropolitan areas within urban agglomerations should be promoted.The driving role of core cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration should be further promoted,and the internal network structure of small groups should be optimized.Second,in the context of a rapidly developing digital economy,cooperation among national strategic regional sectors should be continuously strengthened to avoid the lock-in effect resulting from locally dense interactive connections within urban agglomerations.Finally,local policies should incentivize researchers and institutions(e.g.,firms and universities)to participate in regional collaboration networks and develop flourishing partnerships.
万方数据
维普
