Winners share, followers gain: evidence from a national innovation award

Knowledge spillovers are central to innovation policy, yet how honorary awards shape firms’ knowledge sharing behavior remains underexplored. Using the China Patent Award and a sample of 24,236 firm-year observations from 2013 to 2023, this study finds that award-winning firms exhibit patent citation levels roughly 8% to 13% higher on average, with the increase concentrated in outward diffusion to other firms rather than internal knowledge recycling. The association is stronger under higher technological proximity and in technology-intensive industries, weakens amid intense market competition, and is amplified by robust intellectual property protection and greater media visibility. Collaborative patent activity and outward licensing following award receipt are both positively associated with subsequent knowledge diffusion, suggesting that public recognition attracts cooperative partners and creates licensing opportunities that broaden knowledge flows. Among non-winning firms, a one-unit increase in knowledge absorbed from award-winning firms is associated with roughly 9.2% more authorized invention patents. These findings suggest that honorary awards complement economic incentives by certifying technological leadership and reducing disclosure risks, generating social benefits that extend well beyond the originally recognized firm.