The convergence mechanism and spatial spillover effects of urban industry-university-research collaborative innovation performance in China

This study deconstructs the triple helix structure of urban industry-university-research collaborative innovation into a two-stage chain structure of knowledge innovation and technological innovation. Based on data of 285 China prefecture-level cities from 2004 to 2018, this study measures the urban industry-university-research collaborative innovation performance using the network data envelopment analysis model. Additionally, it clarifies its spatial convergence mechanism and spatial spillover effects using the spatial convergence test and spatial Durbin model. The results suggest that: (1) the performance of China's urban industry-university-research collaborative innovation at different stages shows a spatial pattern with obvious regional differences and diversified development modes. (2) The overall performance shows a trend of gradual σ convergence with a slightly fluctuating rate, and the gap is constantly decreasing. Additionally, it shows an absolute β convergence trend at different stages, with an obvious geospatial club convergence trend in the eastern, central, and western regions. (3) The spatial spillover effects of ‘research-to-production’ performance and overall performance are stronger than that of ‘university-to-research’ performance. Finally, the collaborative innovation performance of various cities is dominated by the polarisation effect, and the its role as the driving force of regional innovation needs to be strengthened.