The Low-Altitude Economy as an Open Innovation Ecosystem: An Integrative General-Purpose Platform Technology Framework, Knowledge Spillovers, and Regional Productivity in Vietnam

The rapid diffusion of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and associated digital infrastructure has created the low-altitude economy (LAE), yet its productivity effects remain unclear. This paper conceptualises LAE as a General-Purpose Platform Technology (GPPT)-an integrative framework that links general-purpose technology, platform economics, and open innovation ecosystems-and derives testable predictions on cross-sector spillovers and co-innovation. Using a balanced panel of 63 Vietnamese provinces (2015–2023), we combine System GMM, a Spatial Durbin Model, staggered Difference-in-Differences, and mediation analysis to identify the LAE–TFP relationship. A one-standard-deviation increase in the LAE Investment Index is associated with a 3.4 log-point increase in total factor productivity (β = 0.219; SE = 0.052). Spatial spillovers account for 31.5% of the total effect, indicating substantial cross-regional complementarities. Productivity gains are stronger in high human-capital contexts, consistent with co-invention dynamics. Open innovation pilot zones increase annual TFP growth by 2.1 percentage points, with effects materialising over two to three years. These results position LAE as a platform-based open innovation system and highlight the role of coordinated, ecosystem-oriented governance in emerging economies. • Low-altitude economy acts as a general-purpose platform technology. • LAE investment significantly improves regional productivity. • Strong spatial spillovers exist across provinces. • Human capital and digital infrastructure amplify LAE effects.