ANALYSIS ON SPATIOTEMPORAL EVOLUTION AND CONFIGURATION OF DIGITAL INNOVATION NETWORKS IN YANGTZE RIVER DELTA URBAN AGGLOMERATION

Bo SONG; Ke-ke CHEN; Hong-da XU

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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2026

ANALYSIS ON SPATIOTEMPORAL EVOLUTION AND CONFIGURATION OF DIGITAL INNOVATION NETWORKS IN YANGTZE RIVER DELTA URBAN AGGLOMERATION

Bo SONG ¹^,² ,
Ke-ke CHEN ¹ ,
Hong-da XU ³^,*

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Abstract

Regional digital innovation cooperation has emerged as a key driver for high-quality urban development. This study analyzes digital technology joint patent data from 41 prefecture-level and above cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration over the period 2011—2022. Utilizing Social Network Analysis and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, the research unveils the spatial structural characteristics and evolutionary trends of the digital innovation network, and explores the configurational paths for enhancing intercity cross-sector innovation cooperation. The findings indicate that the digital innovation network evolves from a simple and sparse structure to one that is complex and dense, with the "small-world" property gradually manifesting. Moreover, cohesive subgroups undergo a phased transition from multi-core decentralization through structural reorganization to coordinated evolution. The spatial pattern of the network is characterized by a polycentric structure led by core cities, with a pronounced east-west spatial differentiation. High-level cross-sector innovation cooperation depends not only on a robust economic foundation but also on well-developed digital infrastructure. Three driving paths are identified: the "city subject" dominant, the "digital environment-city subject" balanced, the "digital environment-city subject" robust.

Key words

Yangtze River Delta / digitalization / innovation network / configurational path / neoschumpeterian theory

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Bo SONG , Ke-ke CHEN , Hong-da XU. ANALYSIS ON SPATIOTEMPORAL EVOLUTION AND CONFIGURATION OF DIGITAL INNOVATION NETWORKS IN YANGTZE RIVER DELTA URBAN AGGLOMERATION[J]. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY. 2026

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