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Are Non-R&D Innovation Activities Actually Effective for Innovation Sustainability? Empirical Study from Chinese High-Tech Industry

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  • Jian Hou

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Jiancheng Chen

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Hongfeng Song

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Gang Wang

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

Abstract

Compared with developed countries, the paper explores whether non-R&D innovation activities in China actually are effective and provides a guidance on how we can choose a sustainable innovation mode for non-R&D, especially considering the “threshold effect” of the heterogeneity of different regional innovation levels. The dynamic threshold panel models of the non-R&D ( NRD ) effect on the basis of the threshold of regional innovation level is constructed to verify the complex “threshold effect” characteristics between non-R&D and innovation performance. The empirical results are discussed according to the panel data for 30 provinces in China concerning the high-tech industry. Results argue that the mechanism of non-R&D innovation activities on innovation performance have a significantly different “threshold effect.” Interestingly, when the threshold of regional innovation keeps a low level, the negative effect of non-R&D innovation activities is much larger. When the threshold level of regional innovation increases, reaching the critical mass, the negative impact of non-R&D innovation activities on innovation performance becomes smaller. However, once the regional innovation level crosses the critical mass, the negative impact of non-R&D shows a significantly increasing tendency. Specifically, neither much higher nor much lower regional innovation level is conducive to the promoting effect of non-R&D activities. The negative impact of non-R&D on performance will decrease to the minimum only in the regions within the moderate threshold level (critical mass). The dynamic nonlinear mechanism between non-R&D activities and innovation performance is empirically studied to assist high-tech enterprises for innovation sustainability based on heterogeneity of different regional innovation levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Jian Hou & Jiancheng Chen & Hongfeng Song & Gang Wang, 2018. "Are Non-R&D Innovation Activities Actually Effective for Innovation Sustainability? Empirical Study from Chinese High-Tech Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2018:i:1:p:174-:d:194112
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    2. Sunyoung Park, 2019. "Identification of Overall Innovation Behavior by Using a Decision Tree: The Case of a Korean Manufacturer," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-54, November.

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