高铁连通对企业跨区域合作创新的影响及作用机制

Impact of China Railway High-speed connectivity on corporate cross-regional cooper-ative innovation and its mechanisms

创新主体之间的跨区域合作是应对并解决现有企业创新需求的有效手段,是发挥创新合力打造科技创新共同体的重要形式。该研究从企业跨区域合作创新的视角,基于2005—2019年高铁连通与“企业-城市关系对”的合作专利申请的面板数据,采用多期双重差分法,实证检验高铁连通促进企业跨区域合作创新的影响及作用机制。研究发现:①企业所在城市与合作对象所在城市高铁连通显著提升了企业合作专利申请的数量,该结论在经过内生性检验、平行趋势检验、安慰剂检验和稳健性检验后依然稳健;②在高铁连通影响下,企业跨区域合作创新对象的数量明显增加,但主要分布在近距离及近距离的中心城市范围内,整体呈现“散中有聚”的空间收缩效应和空间分级效应;③高铁连通还使得企业合作创新质量得到提升,将近距离范围内的低质量合作创新转化为高质量的合作创新,呈现空间上的分层效应。进一步研究发现:①高铁连通主要促进了非制造业企业的合作创新,而对制造业企业的促进效果不显著;②高铁连通使国有资本背景的企业跨区域合作专利申请的数量得到提高,而对民营、外资和其他企业的影响不显著;③高铁连通更能提高规模较大企业的合作创新水平,但对规模相对较小的企业作用不显著。该研究结论可为国家推动企业牵头组建创新联合体,完善创新体系建设提供新思路;建议持续优化完善高铁主干及支线网络布局,将更多潜力城市接入高铁网络。

Cross-regional cooperation among innovation subjects is an effective method to respond to and solve the dilemma of existing innovation needs and is an important way of creating a scientific and technological innovation community by utilizing the innovation syn-ergy of research subjects.From the perspective of corporate cross-regional cooperative innovation,this study theoretically analyzed the mechanisms of China Railway High-speed(CRH)connectivity in promoting such innovation.Using the panel data of patent applications from CRH connectivity and‘enterprise-city relationship pairs’from 2005 to 2019,we empirically tested the impact and mechanisms of CRH connectivity on the optimization of innovation space for enterprises by adopting the multi-period differences-in-differences method.The results showed that:①CRH connectivity between cities where enterprises were located and cities where partners were located sig-nificantly increased the number of cooperative patent applications.This conclusion remained robust after the endogenetic test,parallel trend test,placebo test,and robustness test.②Under the influence of CRH connectivity,the number of objects of corporate cooperative innovation increased significantly,but they mainly sought such innovation within close distances and close central cities,showing the spatial contraction effect and spatial classification effect of‘agglomeration in dispersion.’③CRH connectivity also enhanced the quali-ty of cooperative innovation,transforming low-quality cooperative innovation within short distances into high-quality cooperative innova-tion,indicating a spatial stratification effect.Further research showed that:①CRH connectivity mainly promoted cooperative innovation of non-manufacturing enterprises,without a significant promoting effect on manufacturing enterprises.②CRH connectivity increased the number of patent application by enterprises with state-owned capital in cross-regional cooperation,but had no obvious impact on pri-vate,foreign,and other enterprises.③CRH connectivity could improve the cooperative innovation level of large enterprises,but the ef-fect on relatively small enterprises was not significant.The research conclusions can provide new insights for governments to promote the establishment of innovation consortiums led by enterprises and improve the construction of innovation system.It is suggested that the CRH network layout should be continuously optimized and improved to connect more potential cities to the network.