‘Buzz-and-pipeline’ dynamics in Chinese science: the impact of interurban collaboration linkages on cities’ innovation capacity

ABSTRACT

Drawing on the ‘buzz-and-pipeline’ framework, this paper examines the impact of intra- and interregional collaboration linkages on the innovation capacity of cities, as evidenced by the co-publication networks existing among 217 Chinese cities located in 20 city-regions. The results show that (1) intra- and interregional linkages have an inverted ‘U’-shaped and positive relationship with innovation capacity, respectively; (2) the positive effects of intra- and interregional linkages on urban innovation can be enhanced when combined with triadic closure and structural holes, respectively; and (3) there exists a complementary relation between intra- and interregional linkages in facilitating cities’ innovation capacity.

KEYWORDS:

• collaboration linkages
• buzz and pipelines
• innovation capacity
• urban networks
• network structure
• Chinese science

JEL:

• R1
• R58

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their valuable insights and suggestions. The usual disclaimer applies, and all errors remain the authors’ own.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The first author is thankful for financial support given by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 52008298] and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [grant number 2020M671229]. The third author is thankful for financial support given by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41901189].