Digital economy, government intellectual property protection, and entrepreneurial activity in China

ABSTRACTThis study aims to explore the relationship between the digital economy and entrepreneurial activity from the perspective of government intellectual property protection. Based on data of 191 Chinese prefectural-and-above (PAA) level cities from 2015 to 2020, this empirical study conducts hierarchical regressions and spatial econometric analysis. The results show that the digital economy positively influences entrepreneurial activity. Meanwhile, the digital economy makes entrepreneurial activity show inter-city spatial dependence. Besides, government intellectual property protection plays a mediating role between the digital economy and entrepreneurial activity. Further, heterogeneity analysis shows that maintaining a high level of digital economic development and high-standard government intellectual property protection will be conducive to cities' innovation and entrepreneurship.KEYWORDS: Digital economygovernment intellectual property protectionentrepreneurial activityspatial dependence effect Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number 71673135]; National Social Science Fund of China: [Grant Number 22VRC064]; and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province: [Grant Number KYCX23_0613].Notes on contributorsQian ChenQian Chen is a doctoral student in the School of Intellectual Property, Nanjing University of Science and Technology. Her research interests mainly focus on digital economy, innovation management, knowledge management, etc. Her papers have been published in Sustainability, Journal of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, etc.Yong QiYong Qi is a professor and the Dean of the School of Intellectual Property, Nanjing University of Science and Technology. He got a Ph.D. degree from Nanjing University of Science and Technology. He is also a visiting scholar from the University of Washington (Seattle) sent by the Chinese state. His research interests mainly focus on intellectual property, digital economy, innovation management, etc. His papers have been published in Technological Forecasting & Social Change, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, Sustainability, Journal of Chinese Management Science, Journal of Chinese Soft Sciences, etc.Guiyang ZhangGuiyang Zhang is an Assistant Professor in the School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology. He got a Ph.D. degree from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests mainly focus on open innovation, R&D management, digital economy, etc. His papers have been published in R&D Management, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, Scientometrics, International Journal of Technology Management, European Journal of Innovation Management, Sustainability, Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science.