Substitutive or Complementary? Knowledge Collisions and Urban Innovation Under Infrastructure Integration

Abstract

Based on panel data from Chinese cities, we analyze the interactive effects of the Internet and high-speed rail (HSR) on innovation from the perspectives of quantity, quality, and structure. The results indicate that while the combination of the Internet and HSR has a substitutive effect on urban innovation quantity, it exerts a complementary effect on innovation quality. In terms of innovation structure, we find that this dual effect stems from their ability to reduce urban innovation bubbles while increasing the scale and proportion of breakthrough innovations. This structural adjustment process promotes an overall enhancement in innovation quality. Furthermore, mechanism analysis indicates that the combination of the Internet and HSR facilitates various types of knowledge collisions, thereby enhancing innovation learning and collaboration, which in turn stimulates high-quality innovation and improvements in innovation quality. Finally, heterogeneity analysis shows that the quality complementary effect of the two types of infrastructure is more pronounced within the 2-hour HSR range of innovation centers, in Eastern and Coastal regions, economically developed, high R&D expenditure and strong intellectual property protection cities. This study reveals the intrinsic innovation linkages between different types of infrastructure and emphasizes the importance of extending innovation analysis to the dimensions of quality and structure.

Keywords: innovation quality, Breakthrough innovation, Innovation bubble, internet, High speed rail (HSR)