Drivers for Inter-city Innovation Networks Across Chinese Cities:Modelling Physical Versus Intangible Effects

Cross-region innovation is widely recognized as an important source of the long-term regional innovation capacity.In the recent past,a growing number of studies has investigated the network structure and mechanisms of cross-region innovation collaboration in various contexts.However,existing research mainly focuses on physical effects,such as geographical distance and high-speed railway connections.These studies ignore the intangible drivers in a changing environment,the more digitalized economy and the increasingly solidified innovation network structure.Thus,the focus of this study is on estimating determinants of innovation networks,especially on intangible drivers,which have been largely neglected so far.Using city-level data of Chinese patents(excluding Hong Kong,Macao,and Taiwan Province of China),we trace innovation networks across Chinese cities over a long period of time.By integrating a measure on Information and Communications Technology(ICT)development gap and network structural effects into the general proximity framework,this paper explores the changing mechanisms of Chinese innovation networks from a new perspective.The results show that the structure of cross-region innovation networks has changed in China.As mechanisms behind this development,the results confirm the increasingly important role of intangible drivers in Chinese inter-city innovation collaboration when controlling for effects of physical proximity,such as geographical distance.Since digitalization and coordinated development are the mainstream trends in China and other developing countries,these countries'inter-city innovation collaboration patterns will witness dramatic changes under the influence of intangible drivers.

Research and Application of Management Information Systems

Management Information System provides an effective way for enterprises to improve their competitive abilities. It presents a framework for improving the management models through the design and implementation of effective and high-quality MIS. So it is very important to the modem management of corporations. ERP （Enterprise Resource Planning） system is one of the core parts of MIS, which solves the matter of management model mainly. ERP is a popular method enabling the business processes required to compete with the globalization. The thesis cites SAP R/3 to introduce the general structure and function of ERP. Global Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation is increasingly becoming the successful choice of MIS.

Measuring Spatial Differences of Informatization in China

As the wide application of new Information and Communication Technologies （ICTs） shows, the world is moving fast to- wards an information age. Since China was first connected to the Internet in 1994, the development of ICTs in China and around the world has been astonishingly fast, and yet there is a clear ＇digital divide＇ among different regions in China. Although Chinese geogra- phers have paid attention to regional differences in informatization, they usually employ a limited number of indicators, mainly focusing on the Intemet. In fact, infi^rmatization is a much broader concept, covering not only the lntemet, but also mobile phones as well as user ability. In the light of these considerations, this study provides a comprehensive examination of the development of informatization and its spatial differences in China. First, based on a literature review, the paper identifies 29 preliminary indicators for measuring informa- tization, and employs prin,-ipal components analysis and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to streamline them into 12 indicators to form an ICTs Developmen： Index （ID1）. Second, by using the data from provincial statistical yearbooks and the China Internet Network Information Center, the paper calculates the 1191 of each mega-region and each province in 2000-2010, and measures the changing spa- tial differences in the development of informatization in China. Lastly, the paper quantifies the relationship between informatization and economic growth. The empirical results show that the IDI of the western and central China has been increasing faster than that of the coastal region, indicating that the digital divide in China has been narrowing.