Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
4-2025
Abstract
This study focuses on the mechanism through which industrial clusters enhance technological innovation among micro and small enterprises. Using the VanYang Micro-Enterprise Park in Zhejiang Province as a representative case, the research integrates perspectives from industrial cluster theory, innovation theory, and spatial economics to explore how clustered environments influence enterprise innovation performance through resource integration, knowledge spillovers, and organizational collaboration. Departing from traditional static comparative methods, this study adopts an event study approach to dynamically capture the impact trajectory and temporal structure of enterprise innovation performance, with "entry into the park" serving as the key event.
Based on panel data constructed from surveys and interviews, the study evaluates changes in core innovation indicators—such as new product development, patent applications, and the proportion of innovation-driven revenue—before and after park entry. The event window regression model reveals three main findings: First, entry into the cluster exerts a significant and sustained positive effect on enterprise innovation, showing a cumulative upward trend over time. Second, different innovation indicators respond at different times, reflecting a staged mechanism of “input–output–market transformation.” Third, micro and small enterprises are more sensitive to the cluster environment, exhibiting higher marginal returns on innovation.
Furthermore, the study draws on the theory of multidimensional proximity to explain the mechanism of knowledge flow among firms within the cluster and examines how product diversity and market concentration moderate innovation efficiency. These findings provide theoretical insight into how cluster-based parks empower small businesses and offer practical guidance for policymakers in optimizing spatial planning, innovation policies, and resource allocation in industrial parks.
This research not only enriches the methodological toolkit for studying industrial clusters and innovation dynamics but also highlights the micro-foundations of cluster-based innovation incentives. It contributes empirical evidence to support China's evolving approaches to cluster governance and small enterprise innovation.
Keywords
industrial cluster, micro-enterprise park, event study method, innovation performance, knowledge spillover, proximity mechanism
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Business Administration (Accounting and Finance)
Discipline
Accounting | Industrial Organization | Technology and Innovation
Supervisor(s)
YUE, Heng
First Page
1
Last Page
139
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
WU, Jianming.
How industrial clusters affect technological innovation: Evidence from Vanyang Small & Micro Industrial Park. (2025). 1-139.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/694
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.