Enhancing high-quality development in regional innovation ecosystems

This study explores the enhancement of high-quality development in regional innovation ecosystems, focusing on the influence of technological innovation and corporate financing support. By employing innovation ecosystem theory, the authors analyze various factors that affect ecosystem development and utilize panel regression and spatial econometrics to examine the impact of regional technological innovation and corporate financing on high-quality ecosystem development. The findings are as follows: (1) Urbanization in the Yellow River Basin exhibits areas with development advantages, stability, and disadvantage. (2) The regression analysis of the entire sample reveals a synergistic effect of regional innovation and corporate financing support in promoting high-quality ecosystem development. (3) The regression analysis of the local sample demonstrates that the impact of high-quality development factors within the innovation ecosystem differs among the upstream, middle, and downstream regions of the Yellow River Basin, with the middle region exerting the most significant influence. Multiple factors contribute to resistance in developing the regional innovation ecosystem in the basin, leading to the accumulation of “reverse effects” over time. Thus, improving the quality development of the Yellow River Basin ecosystem requires collaborative management and coordinated improvements across multiple entities. This research offers insights for China's ecological protection and high-quality development strategies in the Yellow River Basin and other regions currently constructing mechanisms for high-quality development in their regional ecosystems. •Synergistic effect of technological innovation and corporate financing support.•Factors within innovation ecosystem differs in different regions of Yellow River Basin.•Collaborative management to enhance the development of regional innovation ecosystems.