Economic Impact of University Knowledge Spillovers on Firm Innovation: A Spatial Analysis from China

Xiangshuo Zhang

doi:10.31181/ijes1512026217

Authors

Xiangshuo Zhang Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia Author https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1907-4177

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31181/ijes1512026217

Keywords:

Knowledge Spillovers, Geographic Distance, Corporate innovation, Regional Economic Development, University–Enterprise Collaboration

Abstract

University knowledge spillovers are widely recognized as vital drivers of corporate innovation and regional economic development. However, the economic impact of geographic distance between enterprises and universities on innovation output remains underexplored. This study investigates the relationship between spatial proximity to universities and corporate innovation performance using invention patent data from Chinese A-share listed firms between 2010 and 2022. Employing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models with city and year fixed effects, we find a significant negative association between geographic distance and firms’ innovation outputs. Mechanism analyses identify university–enterprise patent collaboration and firms’ innovation-related information disclosure as key economic channels for knowledge spillover effects. Moreover, heterogeneity analyses show that these effects are more pronounced in cities with smaller economic scales or limited innovation resources, underscoring the importance of spatial economic factors. By analyzing the impact of university knowledge spillovers on firm innovation, this study broadens the set of identified determinants of corporate innovation, thereby providing additional evidence and theoretical foundations for advancing high-quality, innovation-driven economic development.

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