IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jknowl/v16y2025i2d10.1007_s13132-024-01844-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the Impact of Spatial Externalities on Two-Stage R&D Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from 285 Chinese Prefecture-Level Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Xionghe Qin

    (Hefei University of Technology)

  • Dong Zhang

    (Hefei University of Technology)

  • Debin Du

    (East China Normal University
    East China Normal University)

Abstract

This study applies a spatial Durbin model to empirically investigate the impacts of local agglomeration, regional adjacency, and inter-regional network externalities on research and development (R&D) efficiency employing datasets of 285 Chinese prefecture-level cities covering the period of 2004 to 2020. This highlights the importance of understanding the different types of spatial externalities from a two-stage R&D perspective. The sequential stages of R&D process were identified as knowledge creation and technology transfer with each stage displaying significant spatial heterogeneity in the prefecture-level cities that were assessed. Inter-regional network externalities were shown to be more advantageous for knowledge creation efficiency, whereas local agglomeration externalities exerted a stronger positive influence on technology transfer efficiency. Furthermore, regional adjacency externalities were shown to significantly enhance R&D efficiency, particularly in relation to technology transfer rather than knowledge creation. The findings demonstrate that the significance of local agglomeration, regional adjacency, and inter-regional network externalities varies significantly throughout distinct R&D stages.

Suggested Citation

  • Xionghe Qin & Dong Zhang & Debin Du, 2025. "Understanding the Impact of Spatial Externalities on Two-Stage R&D Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from 285 Chinese Prefecture-Level Cities," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 8308-8342, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:16:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-024-01844-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-01844-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13132-024-01844-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13132-024-01844-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jknowl:v:16:y:2025:i:2:d:10.1007_s13132-024-01844-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.