How does digitally mediated knowledge flow shape innovation ecosystem cultivation in advanced manufacturing clusters? We address this question through a mixed-methods design organised around one primary and three secondary questions, with each method matched to a specific evidentiary task: grounded-theory coding identifies the constitutive elements of flow, two-way fixed-effects panel regression with lagged mediators traces how flow translates into innovation performance, and a calibrated system dynamics simulation compares alternative cultivation strategies. From thirty-eight semi-structured interviews we inductively derive a four-element framework-subject, object, medium, context-and a coupled dynamical system that formalizes how potential gradients, absorptive capacity, and tie strength jointly govern transmission rates. A three-tier cultivation pathway then translates flow patterns into ecosystem maturation through digital platforms, policy coordination, and industry-university-research integration. Drawing on a panel of nine clusters across the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Chengdu-Chongqing region from 2018 to 2025, the empirical results are consistent with a positive direct association between knowledge flow and innovation performance, with absorptive capacity (≈ 38.6%) and digitalization level (≈ 24.1%) serving as plausible mediating channels under lagged specifications and bootstrapped confidence intervals. Under the calibrated simulation assumptions, synchronized hybrid strategies yield projected ecosystem health scores roughly 17 to 22% points higher than standalone interventions, suggesting non-additive complementarity between platform infrastructure and policy alignment rather than a simple sum of two levers. Findings extend absorptive capacity theory to digitally mediated regimes and provide sequencing-oriented guidance for cluster governance, while the boundary conditions-a small cluster panel, China-specific institutional context, and expert-elicited simulation parameters-warrant caution in cross-national generalization.
Xue et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: