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10 February 2025, Volume 42 Issue 3
  
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  • Shi Jincheng,Liu Yuhan,Wang Yingchun
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    In recent years, some leading companies in China have been dedicated to building a domestic digital innovation ecosystem, striving to overcome the risks of decoupling and disconnection. Although they have made a series of breakthroughs in key technologies, they still face significant challenges in building an independent and leading digital innovation ecosystem. There are considerable gaps in technology strength, market space, and rules and standards compared with the powerful digital innovation ecosystems represented by international technology giants such as NVIDIA, Google, and Microsoft. These leading companies are at the core of the digital innovation ecosystem, and their growth process is closely related to the development of the digital innovation ecosystem. By focusing on international technology giants, exploring and revealing the formation process and micro-mechanisms of their digital innovation ecosystem leaders, it is of great significance for developing and strengthening domestic digital enterprises and building a domestic digital innovation ecosystem.
    The existing literature has systematically analyzed various roles in the ecosystem, including those of leaders (or coordinators) and complementors. Despite significant progress in related research, most of these studies assume that the role of ecosystem leaders remains unchanged. In reality, most digital innovation ecosystem leaders undergo complex growth processes before becoming core leaders. However, there is still a lack of theoretical elucidation on the formation process and micro-mechanisms of ecosystem leaders.
    Given the above theoretical background and practical context, this paper explores the role formation process and micro-mechanisms of digital innovation ecosystem leaders from a co-evolution perspective. The aim of this paper is to address three key questions: How can digital enterprises become digital innovation ecosystem leaders? How do collaborative mechanisms for architecture design and context-driven innovation drive organizational role transitions? What are the insights for building a domestically led digital innovation ecosystem for Chinese digital enterprises facing ecological construction challenges? Specifically, using NVIDIA as a case study, this paper summarizes and refines general rules for the formation of the digital innovation ecosystem leader role according to its 1993-2023 development history in the digital innovation ecosystem, and further analyzes the collaborative mechanisms for architecture design and scenario-driven innovation.
    Firstly, the paper conducts theoretical analysis based on longitudinal case studies. Secondly, it integrates patent technology network analysis into the case study, using quantitative analysis to support the findings of the case study to ensure the rigor and scientificity of the research. Thirdly, the paper incorporates event analysis into the case study approach by conducting a detailed analysis of the development process of the case object to identify 125 key events. It is found that (1) in the following and catching-up stage, through organizational focus strategy and the introduction of self-developed chip architecture designs, NVIDIA deepened external cooperation and linked with industry giants to support the enterprise to become an industry explorer; (2) in the catching-up and surpassing stage, it focused on the forward-looking layout of the industry and tested the potential market to realize the role transition towards the leader of the industry chain through organizational expansion strategy and the open architecture design of the general industry structure; (3) in the leading stage, it has been striving to meet the demands of ecosystem partners and autonomously defines markets through the organizational ecological strategy and ecological architecture design for AI so as to support the enterprise to become leader in the digital innovation ecosystem.
    The digital innovation ecosystem centered around ecosystem leaders is accelerating its formation and forming competitive barriers, but existing research has not thoroughly explored the process and mechanism of how leaders emerge in the digital innovation ecosystem. This paper proposes a co-evolution model of "environmental perception-system transformation-role transition" to explore how NVIDIA, from 1993 to 2023, progressed from an explorer in the chip market, surpassed competitors to become an industry leader, and ultimately transformed into a leader in the digital innovation ecosystem, guiding both technological advancements and market trends. This study deepens the theoretical research on the role formation of the digital innovation ecosystem, and provides implications for promoting the construction of a domestic-led digital innovation ecosystem.

    Shi Jincheng,Liu Yuhan,Wang Yingchun. How to Become A Leader in the Digital Innovation Ecosystem: A Co-Evolution Model[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 1-13., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023100277.

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  • Liu Xiao,Li Jiabao
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    An innovation ecosystem (IE) is the evolving set of actors, activities, and artifacts, along with the institutions as well as complementary and dependency relations. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly adopted by organizations for innovation,giving rise to platform-based innovation ecosystems for collaborative innovation and value co-creation. However, most research has focused on the co-evolution of platform architecture and platform governance and the role of boundary resources provided by the platform owner, while heterogeneous artifacts provided by complementors are rarely explored. Specifically, the industrial and managerial literature still lacks information about how heterogeneous artifacts can foster collaborative innovation in the AI innovation ecosystem.
    Thus, this paper presents a framework for the collaborative innovation process of technological complementarity by using a comprehensive research model to examine the impact of collaboration in the AI innovation ecosystem. The conceptual framework termed “elements-process-performance” from the perspective of complex system, captures the intrinsic mechanisms of collaborative innovation between platform owners and complementors. The elements of innovation refer to the technological components within the ecosystem, comprising both core components and complementary technologies. The process of innovation encompasses the way complementors integrate these technologies to foster innovation. The innovation performance assesses how the empowerment of core technical components affects collaborative innovation performance.
    After reviewing the relevance of studying the innovation system, the study proposes a bipartite network (BN) model to describe the relationships between complementors and technology components based on real-world data from “Baidu Brain” which is an AI open platform in China; then through analyzing the properties of the projected network of the bipartite network, it quantifies the structural features of component interdependency at the node-level, group-level, and whole network-level; the process of innovation is modeled as a bounded, iterative, trial-and-error search over a complex landscape using an NK model, and several simulation experiments are conducted to observe the complex relationship patterns between innovation performance and components' interdependency; finally the study manages to predict the ecosystem innovation performance based on empirically observed patterns from the Baidu Brain ecosystem.
    The analysis reveals that complementary component strategies can affect collaborative innovation in ecosystems in four ways: (1) the level of technological interdependence formed by embedding complementary components into the ecosystem through component strategies has a negative impact on the potential for collaborative innovation; (2) the higher the proportion of core components in the system (C-Ratio), the lower the performance of collaborative innovation; (3) it hampers collaborative performance by raising the ratio of core components above a threshold, indicating over-reliance on the platform's core elements without enough complementary components impedes synergy;(4) an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between component interdependency E-I index and innovation performance. These important findings further emphasize that collaboration among different actors in the ecosystem plays a critical role in achieving higher innovation outcomes.
    The findings provide insights for management innovation in platform enterprises. Platform enterprises as ecosystem builders and leaders, should effectively manage complementary innovation. As a coordinator, it is necessary to pay attention to the network pattern among collaborative innovation entities and effectively manage and coordinate the actions of internal complementarity through institutional design. In addition, platform enterprises also need to pay attention to the management and coordination of modular components. When the E-I Index of a partition of the complementary dependency network deviates from the optimal level, adjustments can be made by enhancing the standardization and flexibility of core components, encouraging participation from complementary enterprises, increasing the diversity of complementary components, reducing the proportion of core components, and modifying the complementarity of technical components.
    This study focuses on how platform enterprises manage and coordinate with complementor enterprises. Given the complexity of technology dependence, integrated application of innovation ecosystems and collaboration innovative theory, it utilizes data-driven and simulation modeling methods to explore the complex relationship logic between technological dependence and collaborative innovation. This paper advances the understanding of the intersection of innovation and AI and provides suggestions for complementary innovation and the ecosystem development.

    Liu Xiao,Li Jiabao. Technological Complementarity and Collaborative Innovation in the Artificial Intelligence Innovation Ecosystem[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 14-26., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023110022.

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  • Bai Jingkun,Sun Xiaotong,Li Jianmin
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    Big data-driven firm-user interactive innovation has become an essential model for firms. The open innovation community (hereinafter referred to as OIC), as the carrier of firm-user interaction, is favored by firms. Compared with other online communities that focus on knowledge sharing, user innovation behavior is substantial in the OIC that emphasizes the mission of innovation. In OIC, users′ innovation behavior with various knowledge can help firms gain access to a plethora of external knowledge and innovative capabilities. Fostering user innovation behavior remains at the nexus of both societal and scholarly attention.
    Most of the present studies have focused solely on users′ individual needs and desires for the community, disregarding the unique nature of the non-employment relationship between users and communities. Besides, current factors are insufficient in explaining users′ voluntary innovation behavior driven by passion and idealism. The ideology-infused psychological contract offers a suitable research perspective. As a type of psychological contract, it demonstrates a reciprocal relationship between the user and the community based on a shared philosophy, and ideology. Further, ideology-infused psychological contracts are considered a prominent aspect of the volunteer literature, so it is plausible to posit that ideology-infused psychological contracts could serve as a potential framework for understanding user voluntary innovation behavior. Therefore, this paper intends to discuss the influence of ideology-infused psychological contract on user innovation behavior in the context of OIC. In addition, community incentives are an important situational factor to explore user innovative behavior, but their impact on specific types of users still needs to be delved. This study further explores the moderating impact of community material incentives, social incentives and activity incentives on the relationship between ideological psychological contract and user innovation behavior.
    By drawing on the self-determination theory, the theoretical framework of this paper is constructed. According to this theory, users who have their psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness satisfied are more likely to have stronger autonomous motivation, leading to more innovation behavior. Additionally, this theory also suggests that extrinsic incentives can impact innovative behavior driven by autonomous motivation, which explains the moderating effects of community incentives. An empirical analysis of 385 questionnaires from the Haier community, MIUI, Huawei consume and Dajiang community by SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 24.0 statistical analysis software is conducted in the study. The research results show that the ideology-infused psychological contract has a significant positive impact on user innovation behavior; the negative moderating effect of material incentives is not significant; and social incentives and activity incentives play a significant positive moderating role in the relationship between ideology-infused psychological contract and user innovation behavior.
    This study has three theoretical contributions. First, it enriches the research on the psychological contract and extends the application background of psychological contract from organizations to OIC. Second, by exploring the impact of ideology-infused psychological contract on user innovation behavior, the study reveals the ideological factors affecting user innovation behavior, that is, the belief of striving for the lofty mission of the community. The findings complement the lack of existing research on the role of reciprocal relationships between communities and users in user innovation behavior and provides new theoretical perspectives and directions for exploring the drivers of user innovation behavior. Third, the study tests the moderating effect of different incentive factors on the relationship between ideology-infused psychological contract and user innovative behavior, which helps to fully understand the role of community incentives.
    In practice, this paper provides three management recommendations. First of all, the community should prioritize user relationship management and foster the development and nurturing of ideology-infused psychological contracts. Second, the community needs to formulate appropriate material incentive measures to realize the promotion effect of material incentive on the innovation behavior of users who hold ideology-infused psychological contracts. Finally, setting more social rewards and activity rewards is crucial for the community. These incentives will bolster users trust in the community and cultivate a greater sense of competence, thereby fostering increased user innovation behavior. In summary, this paper provides reference for enterprises to stimulate users' innovative behavior and formulate effective incentive measures.

    Bai Jingkun,Sun Xiaotong,Li Jianmin. User Innovation Behavior in OIC Context: The Ideology-Infused Psychological Contract Perspective[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 27-37., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2024040765.

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  • Sun Daming,Hu Sumin,Zhu Tianyi,Huang Jingjing
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    In the context of digital China, how to build a strong industrial internet platform to promote the development of new quality productive forces is particularly important. As the product of the deep integration of digitalization and industrialization under the new industrial revolution, the industrial internet platform can realize the ubiquitous connection, flexible supply, and intelligent decision-making of manufacturing resources and is a strategic infrastructure to accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces. At present, how to build an effective industrial internet platform architecture to bridge the gap in the use of data elements and promote the development of new quality productive forces is a key problem to be solved.
    This study selects 278 cities in China as research samples, and employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative comparative analysis with regression analysis, to develop a sophisticated mediation model. This methodology is designed to provide a comprehensive view of the intricate interactions among variables. The study combines the relationship between configuration perspective and complexity, and uses mixed QCA and spatial regression analysis methods to analyze how the industrial internet platform drives the development of new quality productive forces from the perspective of data elements in a more granular manner. The results show that (1) the configuration analysis shows that all industrial internet platforms fully release the value of data elements in the way of "different paths lead to the same goal". Specifically, there are six paths for data element application, which can be classified into three modes: cloud service-core platform-driven, edge computing-driven, and edge-cloud service-core platform-driven. There is only one path for data element maintenance, which is platform driven. While there are four paths for the aggregation of digital talents, which can be classified into three modes: edge-big data platform-driven, distributed platform-driven under non-high cloud services, and distributed platform-driven under non-high data. (2) The complex intermediary mechanism shows that the four configurations of cloud service-core platform-driven, full platform-driven, and edge-big data platform-driven fully unleash the value of data elements, thereby driving the development of new quality productive forces. However, due to some incomplete architectures, while improving data elements, there are still difficulties in enterprise cloud migration, inflexible platform architecture, and low data utilization efficiency, which is insufficient to achieve a qualitative enhancement in productivity.
    The article's marginal contributions are threefold. First, it pioneers a shift in focus from viewing industrial internet platforms as monolithic entities to recognizing them as collaborative ecosystems of sub-platforms, driving the evolution of new quality productive forces. This approach significantly diverges from traditional research, thereby broadening the scope and application range of digital platform studies. Second, it innovatively introduces the perspective of data elements, combines the relationship between configuration ideas and complexity, and reveals the complex relationship between the configuration of industrial internet platform and the development of new quality productive forces in a more granular way, which has important practical significance for the development of new quality productive forces in China under the complex system view. Third, this study develops a hybrid method of QCA and spatial regression analysis, providing new ideas and methods for analyzing complex mediation problems and expanding the statistical applications of complex mediation models in digital contexts.
    The management implications are as follows:First, from the perspective of complex systems, it is necessary to grasp the "diversity of platforms" and "concentration of combinations" to avoid the development dilemma of constructing a single platform. Second, it is imperative to expedite the ongoing cycle of data element accumulation, application, maintenance, and development. This proactive management of data elements will empower industrial internet platforms and their applications to extend their reach into a broader range of industries and domains. Third, it is essential to adhere to the concept of the system, focus on the grand strategy of "digital China" ,and advance the convergence and integration of policies related to industrial Internet, digital transformation and the development of new quality productive forces.

    Sun Daming,Hu Sumin,Zhu Tianyi,Huang Jingjing. How Industrial Internet Platform Drives the Development of New Quality Productive Forces: The Perspective of Data Elements[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 38-49., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.W202410014.

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  • Wang Haihua,Li Yajie,Gong Yanyan
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    In the era of "New Normal" with VUCA characteristics,how to enhance resilience has become the key for enterprises to avoid dangers and shift into safety and achieve sustainable development. As a strategic choice for knowledge expansion, technological diversification is beneficial for enterprises to diversify external risks, improve their perception and adaptability to the environment and then achieve resilient growth. Although existing research pays attention to the effect of technological diversification on enterprise resilience, the "bridge" between the two needs to be further explored. Continuous innovation related to operational efficiency and strategic flexibility is an important ability to achieve continuous development. According to the theoretical logic of "resource-capability-result", continuous innovation drives enterprises to change their mindset, continuously breaking through development bottlenecks and exploring new growth paths through the integration of diversified technologies. Therefore, continuous innovation may play a mediating role between technological diversification and enterprise resilience. In addition, the results of technological diversification depend on the combination of internal technological exploration and external technological relationships, making enterprises embedded in dual network relationships. In particular, the density of internal collaboration network characterizes the close relationship between internal inventors, which directly affects the effective transfer of diversified technological knowledge and information sharing; the heterogeneous resource advantages brought by the high degree of external collaboration network centrality can effectively alleviate the dilemma of knowledge homogenization in high-density internal cooperative networks, and then accelerate the process of diversified technological development and integration. However, existing research has not focused on the boundary effects of dual networks on the relationship between technological diversification and continuous innovation. Hence, this study aims to explore the internal mechanism between technological diversification and enterprise resilience, and investigate the boundary effect of internal collaboration network density and the three-way moderating effect of external collaboration network centrality from the perspective of dual network.
    Following the resource-based theory and the theoretical logic of "resource-capability-result", this study conducts the empirical analysis using a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed enterprises in the new energy automobile industry. The resilience and control variables information of these enterprises is collected from CSMAR and patent data is collected from Incopat. Finally, an unbalanced panel dataset of 285 enterprises from 2010 to 2021 is constructed. The hypotheses are tested by the individual and time-fixed effect models using Stata 15.0.
    The results show that (1) there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between technological diversification and enterprise resilience; (2) continuous innovation plays the mediating role in the inverted U-shaped relationship between technological diversity and enterprise resilience; (3) internal collaboration network density negatively moderates the relationship between technological diversification and continuous innovation; (4) external collaboration network centrality further mitigates the negative impact of internal collaboration network density on the relationship between overall technological diversification, unrelated technological diversification, and continuous innovation.
    The theoretical contributions of the study are as follows: firstly,it clarifies the relationship between technological diversification and enterprise resilience in the context of a long-term and turbulent environment, and expands the theoretical space of technological diversification and enterprise resilience; secondly,the paper provides empirical evidence for the effect of continuous innovation on enterprise resilience and bridges the gap in the discussion of mechanisms underlying technological diversification and enterprise resilience; finally, from the perspective of dual network,it reveals the boundary effects of dual networks in the relationship between technological diversification and continuous innovation, and deepens the contextual mechanism for the transformation of technological diversification into continuous innovation. The practical contributions are proposed. Enterprises should first cultivate internal skills and moderately expand diversified technology fields based on risk assessment. Then it is necessary to seek change proactively. Enterprises should cultivate continuous innovation ability to leverage the positive effects of technological diversification on enterprise resilience. Finally, enterprise should pay attention to collaboration,encourage inventors to "go out", maintain loose partnerships internally and build a wide collaborative R&D network externally.

    Wang Haihua,Li Yajie,Gong Yanyan. Technological Diversification, Continuous Innovation and Enterprise Resilience: The Moderating Effects of a Dual Network[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 50-61., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023060404.

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  • Yu Dengke,Xiong Manyu
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    In the present fast-paced business world with high uncertainties, open innovation has become an indispensable strategy for firms seeking more heterogeneous information and staying competitive and thriving. However, there is still a critical need for a robust theoretical framework that can accurately predict and explain the realization of open innovation performance, and enlighten firms on how to cooperate and deal with internal and external knowledge partnerships in an open situation. The theory of HeXie (harmonious) management emerges as a promising avenue to address this need, especially the He principle and the two fields offer a conceptual lens that aligns with the complex demands of open innovation systems and provides insights into how firms can unlock their intrinsic value through open innovation initiatives. The purpose of this study is to delve into the mechanisms that underlie the realization of open innovation performance in high-tech manufacturing firms, utilizing the He principle as a guiding framework.
    According to the He principle, the research constructs a comprehensive framework to explore the multifaceted pathways to open innovation performance in firms, and figure out how innovation openness exerts a positive influence on open innovation performance under the dual moderation of inclusive organizational culture and intellectual property protection. Empirical tests are made with the panel data from 662 high-tech manufacturing A-share listed firms spanning the period from 2012 to 2021 in China to validate the theoretical framework. Then, the model of fixed panel effects is built for data analysis: the study first examines the direct effect of innovation openness on financial and market performance, and then respectively analyzes the moderating effects of inclusive organizational culture and intellectual property protection policies; finally, it makes robustness analysis and heterogeneity analysis.
     The findings support the fact that the depth and breadth of innovation openness have a significant positive impact on firms' financial performance. However, it's noteworthy that the breadth of innovation openness does not exert a significant influence on firms' market performance, while the depth of innovation openness has a significant negative effect on market performance. This distinction between financial and market performance underscores the nuanced nature of open innovation outcomes. The study also reveals that the presence of an inclusive organizational culture strengthens the positive relationship between the depth of innovation openness and firms' financial performance. This finding underscores the importance of nurturing a work environment where diverse perspectives are valued and integrated into the innovation process. Lastly, it uncovers that the impact of the breadth of innovation openness on firms' financial performance is significantly enhanced in regions with well-developed intellectual property protection policies. This suggests that the interplay between openness and intellectual property protection can be leveraged to optimize financial performance outcomes. What's more, compared with the breadth of innovation openness, inclusive culture has a more significant moderating effect on the depth of innovation openness on financial performance; compared with the depth of innovation openness, the moderating effect of intellectual property policy on the breadth of innovation openness is more significant on financial performance. Intriguingly, the study further explores heterogeneity in the relationship between innovation openness and firms performance and finds that non-state-owned firms and those led by managers with overseas backgrounds experience a more pronounced impact of innovation openness on their performance. This nuanced insight emphasizes the importance of considering organizational characteristics and leadership profiles in the context of open innovation.
    In conclusion, the study significantly contributes to the understanding of the pathways through which high-tech manufacturing firms realize open innovation performance. The theoretical framework of this paper is helpful to guide firms to achieve the dual pursuit of short-term and long-term goals and the balance of uniqueness and legitimacy in the context of open innovation. The conclusions provide valuable guidance for firms aiming to maximize the benefits of open innovation and adapt to the challenges in the dynamic business environment. Furthermore, it informs policymakers and practitioners about the significance of fostering inclusive organizational cultures and tailoring intellectual property protection policies to amplify the positive impacts of innovation openness.

    Yu Dengke,Xiong Manyu. The Realization Path of Firm Open Innovation Performance Based on the He Principle[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 62-73., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.H202308171.

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  • Guan Xin,Li Fengyuan
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    The surge in digital technologies like big data, AI, and cloud computing has made the digital economy a key driver for China's high-quality economic growth. As the micro subject of the market economy, enterprises carry the important function of promoting the high-quality development of the economy as well as transformation, and digital transformation has become an inevitable trend for enterprises to move into the future. As enterprises' digital transformation involves a full range of changes in the business model, process management and operation mode, digital transformation is never easy. Therefore, enterprises only rely on their own resources and capabilities are not enough to successfully complete the digital transformation, how to use external forces to break the dilemma of digital transformation and obstacles to become an important reality of common concern in the academic and practical circles. Institutional investors, due to their unique resources, information and professional advantages, are participating in corporate governance in a diversified way and influencing the strategic decisions of companies.
    With the rise of social network analysis techniques, firms are interconnected rather than isolated in capital markets, and it is more common for multiple institutional investors to hold shares in the same firm. This network of interconnectedness through common shareholdings constitutes an institutional investor network. Within this network, institutional investors can form synergies and play a role at the group level. In the context of accelerated digital transformation, one question worth exploring is the role of institutional investors' network clusters in the digital transformation of enterprises. Therefore, it is worth exploring the relationship between institutional investors' network clusters and digital transformation.
    Following the social network theory and attention-based view, this study adopts 2010-2022 A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen as the research samples, and examines the direct effect and potential mechanism of network clusters on enterprises' digital transformation from the perspective of institutional investors by using the panel double fixed effect model, mediating model, and moderating model. The study finds that institutional investors' network clusters have a non-linear effect on corporate digital transformation, showing a U-shaped trend of change. The moderating effect analysis shows that the centrality of institutional investor network strengthens this U-shaped relationship. Mechanism analysis shows that when the shareholding ratio is less than 8.5%, institutional investors' network clusters inhibit digital transformation through the "strategic collusion" effect; when the shareholding ratio is greater than 8.5%, institutional investors' network clusters promote digital transformation through the "supervisory governance" effect and "resource synergy" effect. Heterogeneity analyses show that institutional investors' network clusters exhibit different governance behaviours towards corporate digital transformation depending on the type of institutional investor group, the type of enterprise, and the information environment.
    The contributions of this paper include four aspects.The study explores institutional investors' network impacts on corporate digital transformation. It first highlights the social networks of investors, enriching research on their economic outcomes and digital transformation factors. It then reveals the non-linear effects of these networks on digital governance and the dynamic scale of investors' shareholding in transformation. The paper also uncovers the "U" relationship mechanism and its dynamic patterns, providing insights into the mechanism of institutional investors' network clusters on digital transformation, and the dynamic behavioural pattern of institutional investors' network clusters on digital transformation. It further examines the boundary conditions under which institutional investors' network clusters affect digital transformation, deepen the understanding of institutional investors' network clusters as a mode of equity governance, and expand the breadth and depth of academic research.
    This study offers tailored recommendations that, at the listed company level, companies should acknowledge institutional investors' network power; at the institutional investor level, it is necessary to make full use of the resources in the investment network, focus on the close relationship with other institutional investors in the network, and choose structural holes with location advantages to embed in the network and improve the influence; at the government level, it is important to encourage more institutional investors to participate in the market by means of preferential policies and simplified procedures to increase their number and scale of investment, so as to enhance market vitality and efficiency.

    Guan Xin,Li Fengyuan. The Non-Linear Impact of Institutional Investor Network Clusters on Corporate Digital Transformation[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 74-84., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2024060485.

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  • Li Ruoyu
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    With the rapid advancement of science and technology, the world has entered the era of big science, where the scale, complexity, and influence of research activities have expanded, making research integrity a key issue. Ensuring research integrity is not only about regulating researchers' behavior but also about balancing scientific freedom with public interest. The effectiveness of the external governance system for research integrity plays a crucial role in maintaining the health of the research ecosystem and the sustainable development of science. However, the current governance system shows a clear fragmentation in practice, posing significant challenges to improving research integrity.
    Drawing on holistic governance theory, the study conducts the systems analysis and employs interdisciplinary methods, to deeply analyze the shortcomings of the current governance system. First, in terms of concept, the definition and scope of research integrity lack clarity and consistency, leading to differing interpretations among governance bodies. Issues like illegal gene editing and helicopter science are not fully covered, resulting in incomplete governance of research misconduct. Second, the liability system is unclear, with an over-reliance on civil and administrative remedies. Civil penalties lack deterrence, while administrative measures, though central, often fall short in addressing serious misconduct. Lastly, governance tools are fragmented and homogenized, leading to repetitive sanctions, increasing costs, and reducing flexibility. Furthermore, current governance focuses too much on post-incident punishment, lacking preventive measures and innovation.
    This study argues for the need and feasibility of reconstructing the external governance system. First, the research community's self-regulation is weak, requiring a governance system that combines external oversight with internal self-regulation. Second, given the significant public interest in research outcomes, research integrity should be viewed not just as an internal issue but as one that affects broader public interest. Finally, the challenges in policy implementation necessitate applying holistic governance theory to research integrity. Traditional administrative control models struggle to address the complexities of modern research, and holistic governance offers new solutions.
    Consequently, three key shifts for reforming the governance system are proposed. First, governance objects should be redefined using a unified approach that integrates horizontal two-dimensionality and vertical four-dimensionality. Horizontal identification should be based on the criteria of "deviation from norms as the core connotation" and "adverse outcomes as the essential extension",while vertical identification should focus on "integrity of research, reliability of results, respect for ethics, and primacy of responsibility". Integrity in research underscores that adherence to scientific norms should be the cornerstone of scholarly endeavors, transcending the mere focus on individual integrity. Reliability of results highlights the importance of ensuring the safety and validity of research outcomes. This principle rejects the 'results-at-all-costs' mentality and acknowledges the inherent uncertainty and unpredictability of scientific research within the modern risk landscape. Respect for ethics places the ethical considerations of science and technology at the forefront, aiming to minimize the risk of dehumanization in research. While the primacy of responsibility emphasizes the convergence of external accountability with an internal sense of duty, for scientists are both answerable to the public and committed to their professional responsibilities, thereby jointly mitigating the risks associated with scientific research conduct. Second, a triple responsibility system is proposed, layering the framework for research misconduct based on “scientific norms, civil contracts, and significant legal interests”, thereby integrating governance with the rule of law. Lastly, governance mechanisms should shift from punishment to a balance between prevention and discipline, using education and preventive measures as core objectives. Leveraging big data, AI, and blockchain can modernize governance and improve efficiency.
    This study promotes the transformation of the external governance system of research integrity from a traditional administrative control model to a more synergistic and diversified governance model by introducing holistic governance theory. Through these transformations, the governance capacity of the research integrity system will be significantly enhanced, providing strong support for the healthy development of the research ecosystem and the sustainable advancement of scientific research.

    Li Ruoyu. Reconstruction of the External Governance System of Research Integrity from the Perspective of Holistic Governance[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 85-96., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2024060138.

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  • Li Zhengwei,Chen Peifu,Xu Zhenhao,Xie Zaiyang
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    With the increasing speed of technological iteration and the intensifying market competition, the external environment of enterprises presents a high degree of complexity, uncertainty, and dynamism. How to continuously adapt to environmental changes and achieve counter-growth is a hot topic of concern in industry and academia. As a crisis with suddenness, nonlinearity, and significant challenges, the U.S. sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the Entity List have an important impact on the development of enterprises, and the Chinese enterprises need to actively respond to the sanctions by timely updating their organizational norms. The crisis perception of leaders regarding the U.S. sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the Entity List is an important prerequisite for enterprises to timely identify crisis situations and respond to them. However, the process mechanism of how leaders′ crisis perception of the U.S. sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the Entity List affects the updating of organizational norms has not been systematically discussed.
    Drawing on the dynamic capability theory, this study analyzes the impact mechanism of the crisis perception of leaders regarding the U.S. sanctions on the updating of organizational norms through the perception-acquisition-transformation model from a dynamic capability perspective. It also considers the moderating effects of leadership risk propensity and leadership centralization. This study focuses on the sanctioned manufacturing high-tech enterprises that are on the U.S. Entity List in Zhejiang Province. It obtains variable data from top-level managers and middle-level managers in three stages spanning from January to August 2023, with 400 questionnaires distributed in each of the three stages. There are 306 valid questionnaires obtained through matching. The scales selected in this article are all from mature research, both domestically and internationally. Reasonable adjustments to the scales are made according to the results of the small-scale pre-test conducted on 40 enterprises prior to large-scale questionnaire surveys. The study then uses hierarchical regression analysis to test the mediating effect of cross-border search and the moderating effects of leadership risk propensity and leadership centralization.
    The results show that cross-border search plays a partial mediating role between the crisis perception of leaders regarding the U.S. sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the Entity List and the updating of organizational norms. Leadership risk propensity positively moderates the relationship between the crisis perception of leaders regarding the U.S. sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the Entity List and cross-border search, while leadership centralization exhibits an inverted U-shaped moderating effect on the relationship between cross-border search and the updating of organizational norms.
    This study has made contributions in several aspects. First, it focuses on the role of leadership perception in the updating of organizational norms, extending the research on the driving factors of organizational norms. Second, combining with the dynamic capability theory, it explores the path of how enterprise dynamic capabilities based on the perception-acquisition-transformation model affect the updating of organizational norms in crisis, addressing the existing research gap on how dynamic capabilities influence the updating of organizational norms. Third, on the basis of the existing research on the impact of U.S. sanctions on innovation and development of Chinese enterprises, it analyzes the influence of leadership crisis perception on the updating of organizational norms in this context, further expanding the theoretical framework of organizational behavior research against the backdrop of the U.S. Entity List. At the same time, the research findings provide guidance for enterprises to implement organizational norms in crisis. Leaders should enhance their crisis awareness of potential risks and actively implement cross-border searches to obtain heterogeneous resources. Furthermore, because of the nonlinear characteristics of the U.S. sanctions on Chinese enterprises on the Entity List, leaders should strengthen team collaboration efficiency and consolidate team consensus through moderate centralization, reduce time loss caused by coordination and employee deviation and conflict behaviors, and build a high-speed path from resources to conventions, thereby quickly and effectively updating organizational norms.

    Li Zhengwei,Chen Peifu,Xu Zhenhao,Xie Zaiyang. The Impact of U.S. Sanctions on Chinese Enterprises on the Entity List on Organizational Norm Updating: A Perspective Based on Leadership Crisis Perception[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 97-106., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023090585.

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  • Jiang Shuyang,Liu Ning,Zhuang Yaming
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    With the intensification of market and technology competition,the continuous iteration of new products has become an important strategic tool for enterprises to maintain market leadership. However,since there is a "development + transformation" process for new products,it not only involves the development stage from scratch but also relies on the transformation stage of market diffusion. Product development is a process by which enterprises create new products or improve existing products through extensive R&D work,while product transformation focuses on the diffusion process of obtaining financial performance on the market side. The imbalance between the two will not only cause operational efficiency losses but may also restrict the continuous innovation of enterprises. In the era of open innovation,when there is a relative deviation between the performance level of new product development and the level of transformation performance,it fundamentally reflects the lack of knowledge in the enterprise's internal product research and development or commercialization capabilities. Therefore,it is of great significance to conduct in-depth explorations on how to keep the balance between transformation and market diffusion. Knowledge search strategy has become a direct way for enterprises to effectively address innovation challenges and reshape competitiveness. However,existing research focuses more on the value effects of knowledge search or the prior value differences of different knowledge search methods,and relatively lacks attention on the key issue of how managers respond to knowledge search in the context of the innovation dilemma. This leads to a significant lag in research on knowledge search response compared to practical applications.
    To explore the above issues,this study focuses on exploring how performance deviations in new product development and transformation affect knowledge search response behavior in enterprises,especially in the context of innovation dilemmas,and how these are influenced and affected by management decision-making logic. Following organizational behavior and management cognition theory,this study selects companies in the manufacturing,software,and biopharmaceutical industries that rely on product iteration to maintain competitiveness. The subjects are managers at various levels who are involved in strategic decision-making and are responsible for related products. It explores the impact of deviations in new product development and transformation performance on enterprise knowledge search response through an analysis of 259 valid questionnaires,and introduces the key explanatory factor of management decision-making logic in innovative dilemmas to analyze its moderating effect.
    The results are as follows. Firstly,deviations in new product development and transformation performance can affect the knowledge search behavior of enterprises. "When things go wrong,we seek change; when things are going well,we seek security". Positive deviations with high development performance and low transformation performance will prompt enterprises to increase the strategic position of proactive search,while negative deviations with low development performance and high transformation performance further lock in the reactive search of enterprises. Secondly,the decision-making logic of managers has an impact on the above relationship. When managers adopt causal logic,they inhibit the positive impact of positive deviations and proactive search,and enhance the positive impact of negative deviations and reactive search. When executives adopt effect logic,they strengthen the positive impact of positive deviations and proactive search,weaken the positive relationship between negative deviations and reactive search. Finally,when facing product performance positive deviations,state-owned enterprises are more likely to boldly implement proactive search in innovative dilemmas. In addition,against the backdrop of proactive search orientation,when managers possess dual logic,causal and effect logic can complement each other,and integrate to give full play to their synergies.
    Future research could dwell on the synergistic impact mechanism of diversified management goals on knowledge search response,including financial performance,innovation performance,and even social performance to enrich mixed performance feedback research. Moreover,a longitudinal case analysis approach to provide strong evidence for the complex relationships between variables at different stages is recommended.

    Jiang Shuyang,Liu Ning,Zhuang Yaming. Performance Deviation of New Products and Knowledge Search Response: The Moderating Role of Management Decision-Making Logic in the Context of Innovation Dilemma[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 107-117., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023110622.

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  • Yao Wei,Gong Mingxue,Zhou Peng,Zhang Ji,Shi Mengru
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    The rapid development of digital technology, the continuous transformation of the globalized economic structure and the increasing diversification of international competition have reduced the dependence of production on material resources and accelerated the birth of a knowledge-driven economy based on the cycle of knowledge production, knowledge distribution and knowledge consumption. In the era of knowledge economy, knowledge management to a certain extent breaks through the traditional simple, centralized, blocked knowledge management mode to open up the empowerment of the management object for value creation, and it focuses on the explicitness of tacit knowledge, strengthening knowledge security risk prevention, and knowledge sharing within the organizations, and information interaction outside the organizations. Organizations can use effective knowledge management to improve the resilience of knowledge operation, rationally adjust the balance between supply and demand, maximize the integration of existing resources, realize a new positioning of the value of knowledge elements, so as to achieve the effectiveness of knowledge management and maximize the benefits. However, knowledge management in the era of knowledge economy relies too much on the increase in knowledge benefits brought by technological achievements, and lacks social responsibility reflection, ignoring the balanced development of knowledge ecology. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the innovative development of knowledge management under the transformation of wisdom economy to improve the knowledge management ecology.
    On the basis of the insightful comparative analysis of domestic and international literature on knowledge management, knowledge economy, and wisdom economy, this paper analyzes the connotation of knowledge economy, wisdom economy and knowledge management in depth. It has been shown that the knowledge economy is a technology economy, while the wisdom economy is a human economy. Knowledge is a mixture of structured experience, insight, expertise, values and judgment; while wisdom is the ability to act with a humanitarian outlook and build on knowledge and understanding. Accordingly, knowledge in the age of the wisdom economy is a breakthrough, disruptive development that transcends the traditional spiral of innovation. It should be noted that the wisdom economy is not intended to replace the knowledge economy, but is a higher-order economic form based on the knowledge economy and fully integrating the characteristics of intelligence and the advantages of the digital economy, taking into account social responsibility and focusing on the future well-being of mankind, and is a collaborative endeavor based on rational thinking and purposeful innovation. Knowledge management at this stage emphasizes the sustainability of the management ecological balance, and prolongs the vitality of management by strengthening the organization's self-coherence, activating the resilience of management, and actively adapting to and striving for recovery in response to internal and external situational perturbations and strong shocks from crisis events.
    The knowledge management ecosystem is a highly complex and deeply intertwined knowledge management system, characterized by real-time knowledge sharing, collaborative knowledge innovation, management autonomy and sustainable benefits. This paper comparatively analyzes knowledge management in the era of knowledge economy and wisdom economy from the aspects of management subject, management object, management situation, management tools, management activities, driving mechanism, and change mechanism. The new aspect of knowledge management lies in "wisdom", which is the higher-order manifestation of intellectually-driven knowledge that is unique and distinctive, and is embedded in the management components, knowledge interactions, and organizational practices of an organization by reconfiguring the characteristics of knowledge. The "wisdom" of knowledge management highlights the thinking vitality, creative tension and absorptive capacity of the main body of management, and activates the inherent potential of the management object in an all-round way, and the knowledge management ecosystem shows a sustainable benefit character in the whole life cycle, highlighting the characteristic of "wisdom emergence". On this basis, this paper puts forward a research framework based on the structure of digital intelligence driven by computable paths, institutionalization of governance norms, accountability of comprehensive rights, sustainability of new quality productivity, and value wisdom innovation of the emergence of management ecological wisdom, which enriches the research of knowledge management in the era of wisdom economy and provides support for the research and practice related to knowledge management.

    Yao Wei,Gong Mingxue,Zhou Peng,Zhang Ji,Shi Mengru. From the Age of the Knowledge Economy to the Age of the Wisdom Economy: Focusing on a New Research Framework for Knowledge Management[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 118-129., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023120188.

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  • Zhan Yong,Ma Congwen
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    As China′s economy has reached a new normal of development, the traditional economic growth model has become insufficient, and the factor-driven and scale-expansion-oriented development mode cannot sustainably promote economic development; therefore, it is an urgent task for China to transform the development mode and realize high-quality and efficiency-oriented development. In realizing quality and efficiency-oriented development, high-end innovation is the key. According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), China's R&D expenditure in 2022 exceeded 3 trillion yuan, while the intensity of R&D investment also increased significantly to 2.5%. These figures demonstrate that China has been committed to strengthening scientific and technological innovation to promote economic transformation and upgrading as well as sustainable development. However, although China has invested a lot of resources in scientific and technological innovation and made remarkable progress, the proportion of invention patents in the total number of patents granted in China in recent years has been around 20%, while this indicator of the United States has remained at around 90%, reflecting that China's current level of high-end innovation is low, and it is still in the trap of "locking in at the low end" of technological innovation. In particular, with the increasing complexity of the international political and economic situation, there is still a large gap between China and the developed countries in the field of high-end technology, and some key high-end technology is still dependent on imports, which will lead to China facing the plight of technological innovation "low-end lock-in" in some key industries, i.e., the degree of dependence on high-end technology is too high, which makes China easy to be constrained by others.Therefore, against the above backdrop, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore how to drive high-end innovation of enterprises for China to realize high-quality development and break through the predicament of "low-end lock-in" in technological innovation.
    This study employs the double-difference method and empirically examines the impact, mechanism, heterogeneity and economic consequences of the cultivation of SRDI enterprises on the high-end innovation of enterprises. It takes 2015-2022 GEM, KIC and SMB listed companies as samples, and compiles "specialized, refined, differential and innovative" (SRDI) enterprises in SMB, KIC and GEM as processing groups by referring to SRDI enterprises recognized and cultivated by CnOpenData and CNRDS database; the invention patent data for measuring high-end innovation of enterprises is sourced from the CNRDS database, while the digital finance data is obtained from the Peking University Digital Inclusive Finance database. Besides, all other required data in the study are from the CSMAR database. Then, the samples with missing observations of variables are first excluded, followed by the samples of ST category and financial industry; and finally, the continuous variables involved in the paper are winsorized at the level of 1%.
    The results show that the cultivation of SRDI enterprises enhances enterprises' high-end innovation and alleviates the predicament of "low-end lock-in" of enterprise innovation; the impact of SRDI enterprise cultivation on enterprises' high-end innovation is strengthened by alleviating financing constraints, improving enterprise risk-taking ability and increasing analysts' attention; the impact of SRDI enterprise cultivation on enterprises' high-end innovation is strengthened by digital finance, digital transformation, and the overseas backgrounds of executives; and the impact of SRDI enterprise cultivation on enterprises' high-end innovation is weakened by competition in the industry.
    The findings suggest that, for SRDI enterprises, it is essential to invest in advanced digital technologies, value the diversity of their executive teams, and enhance their creativity and competitiveness by hiring executives with overseas experience, as well as to actively expand overseas markets and carry out international technological exchanges and cooperation; while the government should accelerate the construction of service platforms for SRDI enterprises and the promotion of digital finance, formulate more inclusive financial policies, and strengthen legislation to protect SRDI enterprises′ intellectual property rights and trade secrets to ensure that enterprises can compete in a fair environment.

    Zhan Yong,Ma Congwen. Can the Cultivation of SRDI Enterprises Alleviate the Predicament of "Low-End Lock-In" of Enterprise Innovation?[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 130-140., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.2023090614.

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  • Tang Xiaowen,Cao Xuerui,Chen Xin
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    The integration of digital technology and manufacturing offers substantial opportunities for industry development. SRDI (specialized, refinement, differential, innovative) "little giant" enterprises are the pioneers who overcome technological barriers and act as manufacturing powerhouses by addressing industry shortcomings. Empowering these little giants with digital technology is strategically vital and contributes to the independence, safety, and control of China's industrial and supply chain systems. The existing studies are mostly qualitative research that have explored factors influencing digital transformation, measurement of digital transformation levels, and economic performance resulting from digital transformation. Notably, there is a dearth of targeted evaluation research on the digital maturity of "little giant" enterprises.
    To address these gaps, this study proposes six evaluation criteria for "little giant" enterprises. Utilizing annual report data from listed companies between 2016 and 2022, the study carries on the evaluation based on the four-level "Evaluation Indicators for Digital Level of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises" introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2022. According to the "input-output" theory, input elements are categorized into digital management and digital foundation, while output processes are divided into digital operation and digital effect. The study extensively utilizes quantitative methods to establish six first-level indicators and thirteen second-level indicators for digital professional management, digital information system refinement, digital innovation efficiency, and product digitalization, etc. Regarding evaluation methods, static research approaches face challenges in assessing time-series three-dimensional data, while a singular "VHSD" evaluation model may overlook the wealth of indicator information. Thus, this study combines the entropy method (EM) and the "VHSD" model for a comprehensive evaluation. This approach overcomes the limitations of both methods, enhancing the credibility of the evaluation results. The study conducts a heterogeneity analysis based on the evaluation outcomes, considering industry and regional dimensions. Additionally, it identifies the primary influencing factors of SRDI "little giant" and performs empirical regression using the Tobit model.
    The results unveil a stark polarization of digital maturity among SRDI "little giant" enterprises, highlighting substantial disparities between advanced and traditional manufacturing sectors. Geographically, this division extends across central cities, the southeast coast,the southern, western, and northern regions, exhibiting notable fluctuations over time. The study pinpoints government subsidies, financial technology spending, market competition intensity, and enterprise scale as pivotal factors influencing digital maturity, with varying impacts across samples with different maturity levels. Therefore, it is recommended to encourage "little giant" enterprises to increase digital investment, and apply the digital maturity evaluation system into scale matching, clear positioning;a longitudinal study on the digital transformation strategies of leading enterprises is expected for horizontal and vertical digital integration. On an industry level, the government and research institutions should explore the distinct challenges and opportunities that different industries encounter in their journey towards digital empowerment. Tailored policy support is crucial, especially for traditional manufacturing sectors. The government ought to guide businesses toward a focus of digital intelligence by offering resources, training, and financial assistance, encouraging collaborative, cross-industry digitization aligned with specific needs that can help build a digital ecosystem, enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and propelling the entire industry towards comprehensive digitization. Regionally, measures such as talent introduction, increased capital investment, and enhancement of the digital level of social governance are proposed to achieve balanced development of digital maturity. Finally, the study proposes targeted policy support for "little giant" manufacturing enterprises at varying digital maturity levels. For traditional manufacturing industries with low digital maturity, they should focus on promoting internal digital construction and strengthening hardware investment;for advanced manufacturing industries with high digital maturity,financial subsidies and policy support are expected to facilitate scale expansion, promote digital technology updates, and effectively enhance overall digital maturity.
    This study focuses on the distinctive strengths of "little giant" enterprises in evaluating digital maturity,enhances the existing research on the index evaluation model of digital maturity by employing text mining, the stochastic frontier method and annual report statistics. Moreover, it reveals substantial disparities in digital maturity between advanced and traditional manufacturing at the industry level, along with regional imbalances, and identifies crucial factors for SRDI ‘"little giant" enterprises at different levels of digital maturity, offering valuable insights for policy optimization.

    Tang Xiaowen,Cao Xuerui,Chen Xin. Digital Maturity Evaluation of SRDI "Little Giant" Enterprises Based on "VHSD-EM" Model[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 141-151., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.H202308236.

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  • Yao Wei,Xie Wengang,Qian Shengfan
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )
    Academic entrepreneurship serves as a significant driving force for economic development; its success primarily lies in bridging the two major gaps among the fundamental scientific research to product development and creation within the "Valley of Death", and then to the realization of commercial value within the "Darwinian Sea" .However, the advent of digital technology introduces an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) dynamic environment for academic entrepreneurship, resulting in the coexistence of emerging risks and opportunities within the two major gaps of the academic entrepreneurial process. More importantly, current research is overall in a fragmented state, with a primary focus on speculative inquiries into how a specific type of digital technology can empower academic entrepreneurship. The mechanisms by which digital technology empowers academic entrepreneurship have not received thorough exploration. Consequently, there is an imperative requirement to formulate and refine theories pertaining to digital academic entrepreneurship. Thus, on the basis of a literature review and logical deduction, a theoretical model framework for digital academic entrepreneurship is proposed so as to promote the development of academic entrepreneurship theory.
    Primarily, through a nuanced examination of concepts pertaining to digital technology and academic entrepreneurship, this study meticulously defines digital academic entrepreneurship within the authentic context and characteristics of academic entrepreneurship and digital technology development in China. It posits digital academic entrepreneurship as academic entrepreneurial activities embedded with digital technology in the VUCA environment, aiming to more effectively transform scientific research within academic organizations into commercial value. The inherent characteristics of digital academic entrepreneurship encompass expansive field scope, strong institutional legitimacy, and diverse forms. Furthermore, it analyzes and compares the two key stages of the digital academic entrepreneurship process: the productization of outcomes and the commercialization of outcomes.
    Subsequently, following knowledge-based theory and social network theory, the study makes a rigorous review of 270 relevant pieces of literature on digital academic entrepreneurship both domestically and internationally with theoretical tracing and logical deduction, and then it constructs a conceptual model framework for digital academic entrepreneurship. This framework explains how the incorporation of digital technology elevates the digitization levels of knowledge management and network governance for academic entrepreneurial entities, thereby enhancing the pathways to productize and commercialize outcomes in academic entrepreneurship.
    Finally, it further refines the theoretical model framework of digital academic entrepreneurship, proposing noteworthy research topics and emerging directions for future investigations in the field, building upon identified gaps in existing research and emerging phenomena in digital academic entrepreneurship. These include the operational definition of core variables in the digital academic entrepreneurship theory model, further refinement and empirical testing of the theoretical model, and a dedicated examination of the impact mechanisms of artificial intelligence on academic entrepreneurship.
    The main contributions of this research are its focus on the theoretical model framework for digital academic entrepreneurship, which enriches and expands the conceptual foundations of digital academic entrepreneurship, clarifies the stage-specific objectives within this domain;it also proposes pathways through which digital technologies play a pivotal role in digital academic entrepreneurship, and elaborates on the academic entrepreneurship process of academic entrepreneurs achieving productization and commercialization through digitalization of knowledge management and network governance. To a certain extent, this study extends traditional academic entrepreneurship theory, and its findings can offer theoretical guidance and insights for academic entrepreneurs in the digital technology era. Future research efforts could be paid to clarify the connotation and extension of concepts of core variables in the theoretical model of digital academic entrepreneurship, such as digital technology embedding, productization and commercialization of academic entrepreneurial achievements, digitalization of knowledge management and network governance; moreover, empirical research methods such as grounded theory and quantitative research are needed to expand the depth and breadth of the proposed theoretical model; and the impact mechanism of artificial intelligence on academic entrepreneurship is also warranted of academic attention.

    Yao Wei,Xie Wengang,Qian Shengfan. Digital Academic Entrepreneurship: A Theoretical Framework and Research Prospects[J]. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 2025, 42(3): 152-160., doi: 10.6049/kjjbydc.H202308093.

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