Study on Influencing Factors of Industrial Design Agglomeration on Manufacturing Innovation Performance

Context: As a pivotal productive service industry, industrial design is increasingly recognized for its enabling role in manufacturing innovation through industrial agglomeration. Objectives: This study examines the factors influencing regional manufacturing innovation performance driven by industrial design agglomeration, identifying differential effects of agglomeration elements on innovation input versus output. Methods: Utilizing panel data from 10 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province, China (2015–2022), we constructed an industrial design agglomeration index system spanning four dimensions—industrial agglomeration, industrial scale, human resources, and development environment—alongside manufacturing innovation performance metrics covering both input and output. A two-way fixed-effects model was employed for empirical analysis, with robustness checks conducted to ensure methodological rigor. Results: The findings demonstrate a statistically significant positive correlation between industrial design agglomeration and manufacturing innovation performance. Notably, industrial scale and developmental environment emerged as the most influential factors for innovation output enhancement, while human capital exhibited limited supportive capacity. The agglomeration effect was particularly pronounced in technologically advanced regions. Conclusions: Industrial design agglomeration can underpin the sustainable advancement of manufacturing innovation capabilities. We propose context-specific strategies to refine service platforms, accelerate design-manufacturing integration and digital transformation, and foster sustainable high-quality development in manufacturing.