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Technology Governance

Evaluation of the Organic Patterns of China's Innovation Ecosys⁃ tem from a Multi-Helix Perspective Based on Symbiosis Theory  

Sun Yifang, Chen Qiuji 

(College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710054, China)

Abstract: Against the backdrop of the deepening innovation-driven development strategy  and intensifying regional innovation competition, how to scientifically identify the organic char⁃ acteristics and evolutionary patterns of regional innovation ecosystems has become a critical is⁃ sue for promoting high-quality regional development. Integrating symbiosis theory with the  multi-helix model, this study constructed a three-dimensional evaluation framework for the or⁃ ganic development of innovation ecosystems encompassing quality, function, and structure. Based on five interactive subsystems—industrial operation, research and innovation, policy envi⁃ ronment, innovation support, and social participation—the study systematically assessed innova⁃ tion ecosystems across 30 Chinese provinces from 2013 to 2023. Specifically, the quality dimen⁃ sion corresponded to symbiotic sustainability and was evaluated using the entropy-weighted  TOPSIS model from the perspectives of symbiotic units, symbiotic environment, symbiotic ma⁃ trix, symbiotic platforms, and symbiotic networks. The structure dimension corresponded to sym⁃ biotic synergy and employed the order parameter model to measure the internal coordination  among four behavioral elements: technological innovation, institutional innovation, policy innova⁃ tion, and managerial innovation. The function dimension corresponded to symbiotic scalability  and developed an analytical framework consisting of symbiotic capacity, compatibility, correla⁃ tion, and clustering to characterize the system's capabilities in resource regulation, risk control, information complementarity, and scale agglomeration. The results showed that the overall level  of organic development in China's regional innovation ecosystems has steadily improved, while  the quality and function dimensions still exhibited a pronounced east-central-west gradient pat⁃ tern. Within the function dimension, symbiotic capacity and clustering showed the most signifi⁃ cant growth, whereas compatibility and correlation exhibited substantial regional heterogeneity. Moreover, the results revealed a widespread synergy deficit across most regions, and some highquality regions even showed relatively low levels of structural coordination, reflecting a reverse  Matthew effect in which high quality does not necessarily lead to high synergy. The study further  identified four regional patterns: disharmonious leadership, balanced catching-up, fragile equi⁃ librium, and development stagnation. Based on these findings, the study proposed that the evolu⁃ tion of regional innovation ecosystems was jointly governed by the scale-efficiency path and the  synergy-adaptation path. The current development model, which excessively emphasizes scale  expansion and factor input, constitutes a major cause of structural imbalance and the high-level  trap within innovation ecosystems. From the perspectives of symbiotic evolution and systemic co⁃ ordination, this study extended the analytical framework of innovation ecosystem research and  provided theoretical support and policy implications for regional innovation governance, innova⁃ tion network optimization, and the healthy development of innovation ecosystems. 

Key words: innovation ecosystem; organic pattern; symbiosis theory; reverse Matthew effect; synergy deficit; regional governance; the entropy-weighted TOPSIS model; the order parameter  model