An evolving regional innovation network: collaboration among industry, university, and research institution in China's first technology hub

Collaboration among industry, university, and research institution (IUR) is dialectically linked with regional resources and networks. As the best-known innovative region in China, Zhongguancun in Beijing is no exception. The purpose of this paper is to understand the innovation network of IUR collaboration in Zhongguancun, focusing on linkages between industry and university as well as public research institutes, a key mechanism for transfer and diffusion of academic research and knowledge. Starting from a qualitative analysis of the formation and development process of this network, we combine social network analysis and spatial analysis methods at firm level and reveal the temporal and spatial evolution of Zhongguancun IUR cooperative innovation network. The network has developed from a single driver relying on government-centered connections into a more diversified system based on government and market incentives. A set of large, medium and small radial sub-networks have become interwoven, resembling a hub-and-spoke spatial structure.