Multidimensional pathways
The sustainable development of deep industry-university-research integration in China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22417386 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xia Li (0000-0003-3050-8529, Shanxi Normal University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Industry and Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0950-4222 • E-ISSN: 2043-6858 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09504222261428199 |
| OpenAlex | W7130526076 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 46 |
The sustainable development of deep industry-university-research integration has emerged as a strategic imperative within the global innovation ecosystem landscape. Existing studies often treat policy, market, and social capital as isolated factors, overlooking their configurational interplay and lacking an explanation of the sustainable development of deep industry-university-research integration in China’s unique institutional setting. This study integrates configuration theory and innovation ecosystem theory and employs fsQCA to examine 10 representative industry-university-research collaborative innovation cases in China. The findings reveal: A distinct “embedded authoritarian synergy” governance architecture characterizes China’s deep industry-university-research integration, where state-led strategic directives are dynamically coordinated with market-based contractual mechanisms and socially embedded relational networks. Sustainability is achieved through three equifinal configurational pathways: state-led mission-driven, policy-market adaptive, and policy-relational contingent. Each pathway entails specific institutional tensions, such as decoupling between policy design and implementation, weakening endogenous drivers, or erosion of social capital. Theoretically, this study advances innovation ecosystem scholarship by proposing a configurational framework and the “embedded authoritarian synergy” model to explain how state, market, and societal logics interact in a hybrid institutional context. Practically, it offers policymakers a diagnostic tool for designing differentiated governance strategies tailored to regional institutional endowments, thereby guiding industry-university-research collaboration toward economically transformative, socially inclusive, and environmentally sustainable development goals.
Collaborative governance · Corporate governance · Institutional theory · Scholarship · Social capital · Social network analysis · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences · Innovation and Knowledge Management · University-Industry-Government Innovation Models
Comparing innovation systems
From market fixing to market-creating
The role of intellectual property on Enterprise-led Industry-University-Research Institution cooperation
Exploring the formation mechanism of new energy vehicle industry-university-research innovation network
The rise of techno-geopolitical uncertainty
Factors for innovation ecosystem frameworks
The Comparative Method
Boolean Minimization in Social Science Research
Digital technology and industry-university-research (IUR) R&D network configurations
Mapping the evolution of the central government apparatus in China
Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research
The origins, development, and application of Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Systematic Comparative Methods
The Strength of Weak Ties
| Highly cited | No |
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