Efficiency of Innovation Ecosystem in Resource-dependent Cities: Empirical Evidence from Northeast China

As an essential part of national innovation and development, the urban innovation ecosystem supports modernization. Many countries are exploring innovation legislation and improving innovation policies from an ecosystem perspective. As a typical resource-dependent region, the “high input-high output” development path in Northeast China has been blocked. To meet the demands of transformation, Northeast China has been given great expectations for innovation, and Northeast China’s cities have also made great efforts. However, current research on the urban innovation ecosystem in Northeast China is minimal. To fill this gap, this paper analyses the operational status and innovation efficiency of the urban innovation ecosystem in Northeast China under the guidance of innovation ecosystem theory and attribution theory. With the help of the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Tobit model, it is found that the efficiency of the urban innovation ecosystem in Northeast China is echelon distribution. Among them, the advantages of resource allocation and innovation transformation in medium-sized cities are prominent. Most cities have serious redundancy in innovation ecosystem investment. The innovation ecosystem of Northeast China’s cities is still in the formation and development stage.