文章摘要
易巍.需求引致型高校专利对转化效率的影响研究——基于科技创新与产业创新融合的视角[J].数量经济技术经济研究,2026,(5):131-157
需求引致型高校专利对转化效率的影响研究——基于科技创新与产业创新融合的视角
Impact of Demand-inspired University Patents on Transfer Efficiency: A Perspective on the Integration of Technological and Industrial Innovation
  
DOI：
中文关键词: 需求引致  高校专利  成果转化  组合式创新
英文关键词: Demand-inspired  University Patents  Technology Transfer  Combinatorial Innovation
基金项目:
作者单位
易巍 集美大学财经学院 
中文摘要:
      高质量科技成果转化是实现高水平科技自立自强的重要抓手。然而，中国高校的科技成果供给与产业需求之间的结构性失衡长期制约着成果转化效率。本文基于 2002~2013 年中国高校约 30 万条发明专利数据，从科研范式转型的视角，探究“需求引致型”创新（高校在研发过程中引用企业专利）对成果转化的影响。研究发现，“需求引致型”专利被转让的概率较其他专利约高 34%。机制分析发现，该类专利的高转化率并非源于技术新颖性或重要性，而是因为其作为科学与产业的组合式创新产物，显著提升了高校成果与产业技术的兼容性。同时，引用行为产生的信号传递效应有效缓解了校企间的信息不对称，降低了企业的搜寻成本，进而促进了跨地区技术转移。异质性分析显示，当引用企业关键核心技术，或高校具备较强的基础研究能力、科研团队拥有更丰富的转化经验以及处于市场化水平较高的地区时，上述效应更为显著。进一步分析发现，受让企业在引入该类专利后，其后续创新产出与盈利能力均实现实质性提升。本文为推动科技创新和产业创新深度融合，加快构建以需求为导向的科技成果转化机制提供了经验证据与政策启示。
英文摘要:
      The successful transformation of scientific and technological breakthroughs into industrial applications is a pivotal mechanism for optimizing the allocation of innovation resources, enhancing national technological competitiveness, and cultivating novel forms of productive forces. As underscored by recent macroeconomic policy directives, fostering the deep integration of scientific innovation with industrial production is paramount. The critical challenge lies in dismantling institutional and systemic frictions in the technology transfer process, thereby enabling precise matching between frontier research outputs and specific industrial value chains to inject new momentum into high-quality economic growth.However, a stark stylized fact emerges from the Chinese context-despite serving as the primary supplier of frontier scientific knowledge, Chinese universities have a persistently low rate of patent commercialization. Even more concerning is the structural mismatch characterizing academic research. Network analysis reveals a growing trajectory of “technological isolation” among university patents. Since 2006, the network centrality of university patents within the broader innovation ecosystem has exhibited a continuous downward trend. This study draws on the theoretical framework of Stokes’ (1997) “Pasteur’s Quadrant,” which argues that basic science and technological application are not mutually exclusive. Rather, research can pursue fundamental cognitive breakthroughs while being actively driven by the need to solve concrete, real-world problems-a paradigm fundamentally characterized as “demand-pull” or “ demand-inspired” research.Despite its theoretical importance, the existing literature on demand-induced innovation remains largely confined to macro-level analyses, leaving a critical gap regarding the micro-level knowledge production processes and the paradigm choices of individual researchers. Addressing this gap, this study investigates the micro-foundations of technology transfer by answering the following question: Which specific research paradigms most efficiently facilitate the deep integration of scientific and industrial innovation? Furthermore, in a latecomer catch-up context, how should academic researchers reconstruct their mechanisms for searching and utilizing industrial knowledge to break the “islandization” trap of innovation outputs?Using comprehensive patent citation and technology transfer data, we find that university patents citing corporate patents exhibit a significantly higher probability of being successfully commercialized compared to non-citing patents. Crucially, mechanism analysis reveals that this premium in commercialization rates does not derive from superior technical novelty or foundational importance. Instead, these patents represent “recombinant innovation”-a synthesis of scientific inquiry and industrial knowledge that substantially enhances the technological compatibility between academic outputs and existing industrial infrastructures.Furthermore, we identify a distinct signaling mechanism. In technology markets characterized by severe information asymmetry, the explicit citation of corporate patents serves as a credible signal of market relevance. This signaling effect substantially mitigates information frictions, reduces the search and identification costs for prospective adopting firms, and thus promotes cross-regional technology transfer. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that these effects are amplified when the cited corporate patents represent core, critical technologies; a university possesses strong basic research capabilities; the academic team has commercialization experience; or the transaction occurs within highly marketized regions. Subsequent posttreatment analysis demonstrates that receiving firms experience substantive improvements in both subsequent innovative output and overall profitability after adopting these recombinant patents, confirming the economic value of this transfer channel. Ultimately, this study highlights that in the unique context of China’s comprehensive industrial supply chain, demand-driven recombinant innovation by universities serves as a highly effective, yet historically undervalued, pathway for technology commercialization.Based on these empirical insights, we propose a three-pillar policy framework to optimize the innovation ecosystem as follows.First, policy must leverage market demand to guide resource allocation, shifting the academic paradigm from purely “theory-driven” to “demand-induced.” We advocate for the expanded use of challenge-driven research and development initiatives (e.g., “bidding systems” and “parallel competitive grants”) to embed industrial demand at the very genesis of academic research. Moreover, the academic evaluation system requires fundamental reform. It must pivot away from merely counting publications and patent filings toward metrics emphasizing commercialization performance and industrial value. This should be coupled with property rights reforms that grant researchers greater autonomy over the financial returns of commercialization, thereby creating incentive-compatible structures that encourage researchers to align their work with industrial needs.Second, enterprises must be established as the primary locus of technological innovation. Policy should support the formation of innovation consortia spearheaded by leading tech firms, ensuring that capital, talent, and data flow directly toward the industrial sector to make firms the true decision-makers and beneficiaries of technology transfer. Furthermore, universities should be explicitly guided to strengthen “demand-inspired” basic research by utilizing corporate core technologies for secondary development, ensuring academic outputs do not decouple from industrial realities. This requires strong strategic coordination between industrial and technology policies to embed university research directly into strategic emerging sectors (e.g., AI and high-end manufacturing).Third, to facilitate efficient technology markets, policymakers must actively reduce information asymmetries. This includes utilizing digital infrastructure to precisely match patent characteristics with corporate application scenarios, thereby lowering transaction costs. Furthermore, it is imperative to dismantle administrative barriers to establish a unified national market for technology factors, allowing innovation resources to flow seamlessly across regions. Finally, the institutional environment must be fortified by investing in regional proof-of-concept centers, strengthening intellectual property protection, and optimizing tax and financial support systems to foster a robust ecosystem for the integration of science and industry.
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