产业数字化对本土需求引致创新的强化效应——科技强国建设的优势途径

The Reinforcing Effect of Industrial Digitalization on Demand-Induced Innovation:The Advantageous Channel of Building China into a Global Leader in S&T

把握撬动世界科技强国建设的杠杆,需要找准并充分发挥推动自主创新的“国家特定优势”。国内需求优势和产业数字化的领先发展是当前中国建设世界科技强国的特殊优势。本文回归创新源泉,提出产业数字化通过助推“需求引致创新”从而赋能科技强国建设的新命题,通过跨国投入产出表测算各国各制造业的本土需求和产业数字化水平,并与WIPO国际专利分类(IPC)数据匹配,利用“国家-行业”层面数据考察了产业数字化对本土需求引致创新的影响效应。研究发现,即便在开放条件下,本土需求仍然是引致创新的重要源泉,产业数字化通过提升供需匹配程度和提高研发效率等途径显著强化了“需求引致创新”效应,但这一强化效应受到基础科技能力和市场成长性的制约。进一步研究发现,市场制度环境不完善会抑制“需求引致创新”效应,而产业数字化可以缓解市场制度环境不完善对“需求引致创新”的制约效应。本文的研究从创新源泉视角拓展了产业数字化赋能创新的新途径,对发挥国内需求在科技强国建设中的重要作用提供了新的政策启示。

In the context of China's pursuit of national rejuvenation,the spotlight has increasingly focused on how to build China into a global leader in science and technology(S&T)and the underlying theories.To achieve this end,we need to identify our country-specific advantages to promote innovation.At present,China has two outstanding advantages in this regard:the growing domestic demand and the leading position in industrial digitalization.Previous research has reached consensus that the domestic demand serves as a vital wellspring of innovation,while industrial digitalization exerts universal amplification and multiplication effects on innovation.But another question also arises from the consensus:does industrial digitalization amplify and multiply the effect of domestic demand on innovation?Retracing the sources of innovation,this paper proposes a new proposition that industrial digitalization empowers the S&T advancement by reinforcing demand-induced innovation.The theoretical mechanism through which industrial digitalization facilitates the S&T advancement is explored.The local demand and industrial digitalization of each manufacturing industry across countries are measured by the World Input-Output table,and the PCT patents of each manufacturing industry are matched according to the International Patent Classification.On this basis,the impact of industrial digitalization on demand-led innovation is examined based on country-industry data.The research findings are as below.(1)Local demand is still an important source of innovation even in an open economy,since local enterprises have the inherent advantage of grasping heterogeneous local demand and tacit demand knowledge.(2)Industrial digitalization has greatly changed the constraints that previously restricted enterprises from accurately matching demand with production and effectively utilizing the tacit demand knowledge,so it can strengthen the effect of local demand on innovation by better matching supply with demand and improving R&D efficiency.(3)The strengthening effect of industrial digitalization on demand-induced innovation is restricted by basic technological capabilities and market growth,and industrial digitalization can also alleviate the restrictive effect of imperfect market environment on demand-induced innovation.The marginal contributions of this paper are as follows.Firstly,it diverges from previous research on the digital economy and innovation by elucidating the new mechanism of industrial digitalization through the lens of demand-induced innovation.Secondly,it clarifies both the enhancing effects and conditions of industrial digitalization on demand-induced innovation,with particular consideration given to the common attributes of imperfect market environments in developing nations,providing new policy insights into how China can capitalize on its local demand advantages for becoming a global leader in S&T.