Patent actor-network formation from regional innovation to open innovation: a comparison between Europe and China

ABSTRACT

The automotive industry faces the challenge of digital transformation at present, especially the autonomous vehicle. To explore the innovation links between different regional innovation systems, this study proposed a theoretical framework combining actor network, regional innovation and open innovation systems. Through the social network analysis and non-parametric test of patent data, the research findings show many significant differences between Europe and China. Finally, some suggestions are provided for strategy planning and policy implementation of open innovation.

KEYWORDS:

• Autonomous vehicle
• actor network
• regional innovation system
• open innovation system
• innovation value chain

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2022WKYXZD011) and Ministry of Education in China (MOE) Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (20YJC630201).