How Does Economic Resilience Enhance the Innovation Capability of the High-Tech Industry? Evidence from China

Abstract

There is still a significant gap between most high-tech fields in China and developed countries, and the relationship between the economic resilience of innovation systems and the innovation capability of the high-tech industry has received attention. Using data from 30 provinces in China, this study adopts the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach to analyze the relationship between economic resilience and high-tech industry innovation capability, and the findings are as follows: (1) Technological talents and economic development are necessary conditions for explaining the high innovation capability of high-tech industries. (2) The combination of economic resilience and different factors constitutes the equivalent configuration of two high innovation capabilities and four low innovation capabilities. (3) Under high-intensity technological competition between governments, the increased agglomeration of technological talents, and high-quality economic development, the strengthening of economic resilience is conducive to enhancing the innovation capability of high-tech industries. (4) Under low-intensity technological competition between governments, a well-developed technology market, and increased agglomeration of technological talents, the strengthening of economic resilience is adverse to enhancing the innovation capability of high-tech industries. The main contribution of this study is to clarify the configuration mechanism of economic resilience that acts on the innovation capability of the high-tech industry and reveal the complex interaction between economic resilience and multiple factors.