The Impact of Industry-University-Research Collaboration on Regional Patent Scale: The Threshold Effects Analysis of Scientific and Technological Human Capital

Using panel data of 30 provincial-level regions in China's mainland from 2010 to 2019, the findings are as follows: (1) IURC does not necessarily increase RPS, and S&T HC plays a threshold effect in this process; (2)The innovative effects of IURC have an upper limit on the size of S&T HC, and only when the S&T HC is relatively small does it show a positive impact on RPS; (3) There is heterogeneity in the effect of S&T HC on patent size and substitutability between it and S&T financial capital.

The article reveals the threshold effect of S&T HC faced by IURC. The policy implications include implementing IURC policies according to local conditions for local governments, and actively guiding the balanced distribution of S&T HC for the central government, in order to better leverage the efficiency of the innovation system.