Effectiveness of industry-university-research cooperation in China: impact of innovation input and open innovation environment

Abstract

Purpose Industry–university–research cooperation (IURC) is a crucial way to build an innovative country. How to improve the effectiveness of IURC has become an important issue to be solved urgently. Design/methodology/approach This paper studies the data of industry, university and research activities in various regions of China from 2016 to 2018 and analyzes the impact mechanism of innovation input and open innovation environment on the effectiveness of IURC based on innovation value chain theory. Findings This research finds that innovative talent input has an inverted U-shaped impact on the effectiveness of IURC. When there are more innovative funds invested, the marginal effect of IURC will decrease. When innovative talent input exceeds a certain value, the open innovation environment can alleviate the positive marginal effect of its decline. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature and provides practical guidelines for improving the efficacy of IURC.