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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Geoscience and Society
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1540117

Analysis of Regional Differences, Spatial-Temporal Characteristics, and Influencing Factors of the Coupling and Coordination Development of Science and Technology Innovation between Universities and Enterprises in China

Provisionally accepted
Xiao Liu Xiao Liu *Qinjin Wang Qinjin Wang *Hao Gao Hao Gao *Qian Cui Qian Cui *
  • Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The coupling and coordination development level (CCDL) of science and technology innovation (STI) between universities and enterprises is a key determinant of the effectiveness of the national STI system. This study utilized data from universities and industrial enterprises spanning from 2012 to 2021 to establish an indicator system for measuring university STI ability and enterprise STI ability. The study then applied the entropy TOPSIS method to calculate the STI scores and further analyzed them using a coupling coordination model. Various research methods were employed to quantify the spatiotemporal characteristics and elucidate the patterns of evolution, with the grey relational analysis model being utilized to examine the mutual influence at the micro-index level. The study found a significant transformation in the collaboration between universities and enterprises in China, shifting from extreme incoherence to highly coordinated cooperation. Secondly, the reason for the differences is the uneven development in the four regions. Thirdly, the CCDL of STI between universities and enterprises in each region is notably different, but all show σ convergence trend. Finally, the university STI ability and enterprise STI ability are identified as key factors in the CCDL of STI between universities and enterprises.

    Keywords: Science and technology innovation, coupling and coordination development level, between universities and enterprises, regional differences, Spatialtemporal Characteristics, Influencing factors

    Received: 05 Dec 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Wang, Gao and Cui. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiao Liu, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
    Qinjin Wang, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
    Hao Gao, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China
    Qian Cui, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.