Spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factor analysis of universities’ technology transfer level in China: The perspective of innovation ecosystems

Universities are important parts of innovation ecosystems, and university technology transfer (UTT), which aims for the sustainable commercialization of sci-tech achievements, is closely related to other actors in the ecosystem. Based on the panel data of 31 provinces in mainland China, this paper empirically analyzes the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of UTT levels from 2011 to 2019 and estimates the influencing factors using the spatial Durbin model (SDM) with an economic spatial weighting matrix from the perspective of innovation ecosystems. The results are presented as follows: (1) Although the overall level of UTT in China is low, it shows an upward trend in most provinces. In addition, the interprovincial gap is obvious, forming a ladder distribution of UTT levels increasing from west to east. (2) There is a significant spatial autocorrelation between UTT levels in the provinces. (3) Industry, economy, and informatization play significant roles in promoting UTT, while financial institutes and openness have significant inhibitory effects. The economy has a significant spatial spillover effect on UTT, while government, industry and informatization have a significant inhibitory effect on UTT in neighboring regions. (4) The direct and indirect effects of influencing factors in the Eastern Region and other regions show significant spatial heterogeneity.