热带地理2025，Vol.45Issue(9)：1498-1509,12.DOI:10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240598
价值链视角下中国稀土产业创新网络空间格局及影响因素研究
Spatial Patterns of Innovation Networks and Factors Influencing China's Rare Earth Industry from a Value-Chain Perspective
摘要
Abstract
In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a new wave of technological advancements,integrating technological innovation resources and accelerating strategic emerging industries have become crucial for promoting high-quality economic development.Industrial innovation networks are critical in this landscape,as they enable cities to participate in innovation networks that facilitate the absorption of external knowledge,technologies,and market information,which promotes regional technological innovation.In this study,we focused on the rare earth industry in China,which supports innovation within strategic emerging fields,particularly in technological breakthroughs.Patent collaboration data from three critical stages of the value chain(i.e.,mining and smelting,material processing,and end-use applications)were used with social network analysis and Quadratic Assignment Procedure regression methods to explore the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of the innovation network at different stages.The primary goal of the study was to determine the structural differences in innovation networks within an industry and how these differences are influenced by the functional roles of the value chain.The findings indicate that the scale of the innovation network in China's rare earth industry expands progressively along the value chain,particularly in the end-use application stage,in which the density of connections among the participants increases considerably,resulting in a"small world"characteristic.Moreover,the innovation network in the mining and smelting stage exhibits a north-south differentiation pattern that is consistent with the geographical distribution of China's rare earth resources(i.e.,light rare earths in the north and heavy rare earths in the south).In contrast,the material processing stage exhibits a radial pattern dominated by national innovation centers such as Beijing and Shanghai,whereas the end-use application stage exhibits a"triangular"pattern centered on cities with concentrated strategic emerging industries,highlighting the importance of regional innovation ecosystems.Analysis of the influencing factors indicates that the innovation network is primarily affected by social and institutional proximities,as well as the innovation output capacity.Notably,the impacts of resource agglomeration and openness to foreign markets vary among different stages of the value chain.For example,resource agglomeration is significant in the material processing stage but has a lower impact in the end-use application stage,where the level of openness to foreign markets is crucial for driving innovation.Building on existing research on industry-wide innovation networks,this study investigated the internal differences in innovation networks and mapped value-creation processes within the rare earth industry.The findings indicate that marked spatial differences exist among the mining and smelting,material processing,and end-use application stages,which are closely related to the value processes and resource endowments in each stage.In addition,the findings obtained herein provide theoretical and empirical support for understanding spatial innovation activities along the industrial value chain.We offer policy recommendations for optimizing the spatial configuration of the innovation network in China's rare earth industry,with the goal of enhancing its competitiveness in high value-added sectors and supporting the nation's transition to a more innovation-driven economy.关键词
创新网络/价值链/稀土产业/社会网络分析/QAP回归/中国Key words
innovation network/value chain/rare earth industry/Social Network Analysis(SNA)/Quadratic Assignment Procedure(QAP)regression/China分类
管理科学引用本文复制引用
黄颖敏,张旭,邹小华,黄蔷..价值链视角下中国稀土产业创新网络空间格局及影响因素研究[J].热带地理,2025,45(9):1498-1509,12.基金项目
国家自然科学基金地区项目(42561031) （42561031）
教育部人文社会科学研究青年基金项目(24YJC790069) （24YJC790069）
江西省自然科学基金面上项目(20232BAB203063) （20232BAB203063）
