The Impact of Innovation-Driven Strategy on High-Quality Economic Development: Evidence from China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
• The manuscript has merits, it is well structured and the text is presented clearly and with few errors in English and punctuation. • However, it needs to be improved in terms of referencing and discussing recent quantitative studies related to innovation in China, such as Chen et al (2017) and Liang et al (2020); • Research design is understandable but can be improved by including research questions and/or hypotheses; • The results section is followed by the conclusions and recommendations section. I suggest inserting a discussion section where the study results are contrasted with other quantitative studies on innovation in China (example: Chen at. Al (2017) and Liang et al (2020), among others; • Check figures 2 to 5 to complete; • Make adjustments to the text when it refers to equations, always indicating the number of equations and using the term equations in the vicinity of each one of them; • Check section 3 for appropriate citations; • 178-180 the last paragraph of the literature review needs to be revised as the numbers indicated do not correspond to the true numbers of the sections of the manuscript. • Review the score. There is at least one punctuation error (..) line 289; • Despite the fact that the text, in general, has few English errors, a general revision is recommended, in addition to correcting the 6 punctual errors cited by this reviewer.
1) About: "previous and present theoretical background and empirical research"
Scopus indicates around 150 researchers that publish about “Innovation-driven Strategy” The most cited article among them is in the manuscript: Cao et al., 2019, which is positive. However, the third most cited publication is not used by the authors of the manuscript and, by the title, it is noted that there is great alignment with the subject of the manuscript, for instance:
Chen, X., Liu, Z., & Ma, C. (2017). Chinese innovation-driving factors: regional structure, innovation effect, and economic development—empirical research based on panel data. The annals of regional science, 59(1), 43-68.
Liang, L., Wang, Z. B., Luo, D., Wei, Y., & Sun, J. (2020). Synergy effects and it’s influencing factors of China’s high technological innovation and regional economy. Plos one, 15(5), e0231335.
2) Regarding equations, the following points can be improved: The. line 220 notation does not identify variables; B. All equations were numbered but it would be clearer if the manuscript referred to them as equations (as was done in lines 392, 502 , which is only done from equation 15 onwards); ç. It would be clearer if every time the text refers to equation it indicates its number (as was done in line 404 and 502 and not done in line 408 nor in line 417).
3) References: 30 out of 47 (64%) of the references are from 2017 or more recent (last 5 years). However, there are 13 references with more than 5 years, one of them from 2002, cited in the introduction. References are missing in the methodology section.
4) Some of necessary english laguages adjustments: 1. Line 28: innovation driven is missing the hyphen; 2. Line 55 – verbosity based on the fact (might be wordy. Replace with single term (since or because); 3. Line 57 – in order to (might be wordy. Replace with single term (to); 4. Line 59: innovation driven is missing the hyphen.; 5. Line 62 – misspelling: "reasearch"; 6. Line 120 – in case of (might be wordy.) Consider using a more concise alternative: example: regarding.
Author Response
We thank you for your detailed comments and suggestions on our paper. We have carefully considered and fully addressed all the comments raised by the reviewers in this revision. Our point-to-point response to your comments is presented as follows.
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Point 1: About: "previous and present theoretical background and empirical research"
Scopus indicates around 150 researchers that publish about “Innovation-driven Strategy” The most cited article among them is in the manuscript: Cao et al., 2019, which is positive. However, the third most cited publication is not used by the authors of the manuscript and, by the title, it is noted that there is great alignment with the subject of the manuscript, for instance:……
Response 1: Our amendment is as follows:
(Please see Line 48-55, Page 2)
Reform-era innovation policy strategies have established China’s innovation capabilities [4]. The Chinese leadership adopted the so-called “revitalizing the nation through science and education” strategy in 1995. In 2005, China put forward the important task of building an innovative country by 2020 before propsing the innovation-driven strategy in 2012. Until 2020, there are 78 innovative national cities in China, accounting for 10% of the land area and 33% of the population [5]. And China's national science and technology parks and innovation policies are the main driving forces of China's innovative economy [6].
Point 2: Regarding equations, the following points can be improved: The. line 220 notation does not identify variables; B. All equations were numbered but it would be clearer if the manuscript referred to them as equations (as was done in lines 392, 502 , which is only done from equation 15 onwards); ç. It would be clearer if every time the text refers to equation it indicates its number (as was done in line 404 and 502 and not done in line 408 nor in line 417).
Response 2: Thanks. They have been revised.
Point 3: References: 30 out of 47 (64%) of the references are from 2017 or more recent (last 5 years). However, there are 13 references with more than 5 years, one of them from 2002, cited in the introduction. References are missing in the methodology section.
Response 3: Our amendment is as follows:
(Please see Line 226-238, Page 6)
Goh [40], from the perspective of the evolution of Singapore's industrialization process, explained that the national economic strategy must take industrial development as the goal, and the innovation-driven industrial policy is the main focus of industrial policy. So, Goh considered that value creation and pursuit of innovation promote an innovation-driven economy, which includes world-class exports, highly-skilled jobs, and high industry growth. Liang [41 ]believed that the mechanism of the innovation driven economy is a closed cycle of regional economic growth, technological innovation, knowledge spill-over, technology diffusion, innovation and regional economic growth. Wang [42] used economic infrastructure (EI), the quality and structure of innovators (QSI) and regional openness (RO) to reveal the relationships between the regional innovation environmental components and innovation efficiency (IE). Chen [43] studied economic structure effect, R&D intensity effect, innovation efficiency effect, and economic development effect according to the driving mechanism.
Point 4: Some of necessary english laguages adjustments: 1. Line 28: innovation driven is missing the hyphen; 2. Line 55 – verbosity based on the fact (might be wordy. Replace with single term (since or because); 3. Line 57 – in order to (might be wordy. Replace with single term (to); 4. Line 59: innovation driven is missing the hyphen.; 5. Line 62 – misspelling: "reasearch"; 6. Line 120 – in case of (might be wordy.) Consider using a more concise alternative: example: regarding.
Response 4: All these problems have been corrected one by one.
Finally, thank you again for your valuable comments!
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper aims to evaluate the relation between the economic development quality index (EDQI) and innovation-driven index (IDI) using the entropy method based on China’s macroeconomic data from 2000－2019. The A/AA examine the impacts of innovation-driven strategy on the economy using systematic cluster analysis and the impact of innovation on economic development quality through regression analyses. The results demonstrate the positive role of innovation-driven strategy through high-tech markets in China. According to our results, R&D investment should focus on high-tech industries or fields related to the national economic lifeline or strategic industries, such as environmental protection, microchips, and high-end instruments industries in China.
Overall evaluation:
Writing style: The manuscript has been written in an appropriate academic style; however the authors could pay more attention to the readability of the paper.
Structure of the paper: The sections are enough clear and it is quite easy to follow.
Logic and supporting arguments: More supporting arguments and comments are required to understand the discussion.
Purpose: The overall purpose of the academic discussion is useful and compelling.
The above is to say that the paper discusses an interesting topic but are necessary further efforts to add ulterior comments and explanations. Therefore, the work contains presentation and content issues that must be necessarily addressed.
Major comments:
- In the Introduction section, the hypotheses and research goals should be clarified. Furthermore, the A/AA should clarify the relevance of topic such as economic development and innovation-driven development in the Chinese context.
- In the Literature Review the A/AA could add other key sources such as:
Goh, A. L. (2005). Towards an innovation-driven economy through industrial policy-making: An evolutionary analysis of Singapore. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 10(3), 34.
Hutschenreiter, G., & Zhang, G. (2007). China’s quest for innovation-driven growth—the policy dimension. Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, 7(3), 245-254.
Wonglimpiyarat, J., & Khaemasunun, P. (2017). Strategies of remodelling China towards an innovation-driven economy. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 12(2), 175-188.
Yan, M. R., Chien, K. M., Hong, L. Y., & Yang, T. N. (2018). Evaluating the collaborative ecosystem for an innovation-driven economy: A systems analysis and case study of science parks. Sustainability, 10(3), 887.
Gao, K., & Yuan, Y. (2021). The effect of innovation-driven development on pollution reduction: Empirical evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 172, 121047.
- The A/AA should move this part “This paper is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the materials and methodology. Section 3 is a metrological analysis, and section 4 is the results of the metrological analysis. Section 5 concludes and provides recommendations.” from literature to the Introductions section.
- The research methodology is appropriate and robust for meeting the research aims. However, the A/AA should clarify why they divide the quality of economic
development into economic effect, economic level, green economy, harmonious economy, and innovative economy, and why they select the indicators reported. The A/AA should give additional information regarding the database used.
- The findings are appropriately analyzed and interpreted.
- The A/AA, in my opinion, should highlight the implications of the work by discussing how the findings contribute to the body of knowledge (enriching existing theory and helping improve managerial/institutional practice). In particular, could be interesting to highlight the work’s impact upon society and public policy (influencing attitudes, affecting society). The A/AA should also highlight the originaly of their work.
Minor comments:
- I would like to remind the A/AA that the abstract should be a total of about 200 words maximum. Please, rewrite it.
- The A/AA should do professional proofreading in order to improve the readability of the work.
Author Response
We thank you for your detailed comments and suggestions on our paper. We have carefully considered and fully addressed all the comments raised by the reviewers in this revision. Our point-to-point response to your comments is presented as follows.
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
(1) Major comments:
Point 1: •In the Introduction section, the hypotheses and research goals should be clarified. Furthermore, the A/AA should clarify the relevance of topic such as economic development and innovation-driven development in the Chinese context.
Response 1: Our amendment is as follows:
(Please see Line48-55, Page 2)
Reform-era innovation policy strategies have established China’s innovation capabilities [4]. Chinese leadership adopted the so-called “revitalizing the nation through science and education” strategy in 1995. In 2005, China put forward the important task of building an innovative country by 2020 before proposing the innovation-driven strategy in 2012. Until 2020, there are 78 innovative national cities in China, accounting for 10% of the land area and 33% of the population [5] (Gao kang 2021). And China's national science and technology parks and innovation policies are the main driving forces of China's innovative economy[6].
(Please see Line 65-80, Page 2)
To cope with the weak recovery of the international economy and the unfavorable external environment, China should further promote the rationalization proposal of the innovation-driven strategy. It can also provide a useful reference for other countries to formulate economic development strategies. So, this study first assumes that China's innovation-driven strategy impacts all aspects of the macro-economy, and then assumes that China's innovation-driven factors have a positive effect on the quality of economic development. Then, the impact of China's innovation-driven strategy on the quality of economic development (EDQ) is tested by econometric analysis.
…….These research methods are helpful to enrich the study model of Chinese economy and improve management practice. It can also have a positive impact on improving social and public policy.
Point 2: •In the Literature Review the A/AA could add other key sources such as:
Response 2: Thank you very much for the valuable documents.
(Please see Line 177-189, Page 5)
Research on the mechanism of China's innovation-driven strategy driving economy. Chen Xiafei [31] studied the effect of innovation performance and economic development from the driving mechanism of innovation performance, and explained that implementing innovation-driven strategy is of great significance to China's economic development. Hutschenreiter [32] studied China’s 30 years of economic development, which economic growth model has left behind social and economic risks and sustainable development problems, and pointed out that innovation is the key factor to solving the problem of relying on low-cost and resource-intensive manufacturing. Wonglimpiyarat [33] pointed out that China improves the cooperation among institutions in the innovation system through government intervention policies, especially innovation financing policies, which bring business creation and economic growth. Liang [34] concluded that technological innovation and regional economic coordination could form an interactive development relationship and contribute to high-quality economic development.
Point 3: •The A/AA should move this part “This paper is structured as follows: Section 2 outlines the materials and methodology. Section 3 is a metrological analysis, and section 4 is the results of the metrological analysis. Section 5 concludes and provides recommendations.” from literature to the Introductions section.
Response 3: Thanks. It has been moved to the introduction section. (Please see Line 81-84, Page 2)
Point 4: •The research methodology is appropriate and robust for meeting the research aims. However, the A/AA should clarify why they divide the quality of economic development into economic effect, economic level, green economy, harmonious economy, and innovative economy, and why they select the indicators reported. The A/AA should give additional information regarding the database used.
Response 4: Our amendment is as follows:
(Please see Line 226-244, Page 6)
Goh [40], from the perspective of the evolution of Singapore's industrialization process, explained that the national economic strategy must take industrial development as the goal, and the innovation-driven industrial policy is the main focus of industrial policy. So, Goh considered that value creation and pursuit of innovation promote an innovation-driven economy, which includes world-class exports, highly-skilled jobs, and high industry growth. Liang [41 ]believed that the mechanism of the innovation driven economy is a closed cycle of regional economic growth, technological innovation, knowledge spill-over, technology diffusion, innovation and regional economic growth. Wang [42] used economic infrastructure (EI), the quality and structure of innovators (QSI) and regional openness (RO) to reveal the relationships between the regional innovation environmental components and innovation efficiency (IE). Chen [43] studied economic structure effect, R&D intensity effect, innovation efficiency effect, and economic development effect according to the driving mechanism.
Therefore, this research adopted the indicators selected in this study, mainly referring to their research indicators. As for the selection of the indicators of green, social harmony, and innovation, they are used to reflect the value of the quality of economic development. The explanation considered the new concepts of innovation, green, harmony, and win-win of Chinese economic development. The specific explanation is put in the appendix table A.
Point 5: •The findings are appropriately analyzed and interpreted.
Response 5: My explanation adds the following：
(Please see Line 437-442, Page 13)
To sum up systematic cluster analysis, the internal properties of data are clustered into different classes, and the reasons for clustering can be found in the external environment and cases. The segmentation point of index clustering coincides with the innovation-driven strategy's start-up time. The implementation of innovation-driven strategy must have a positive impact on various macroeconomic indicators through the policy transmission mechanism, which is mentioned in the literature.
(Please see Line 547-553, Page 19)
To summarize the above regression analysis, the EDQI and IDI models are tested, and the optimal multivariate linear model is obtained, showing that the driving mechanism of innovation plays a role. However, the government cannot use the same force in all aspects of the innovation-driven strategy, and the effects of different indicators are also different. Therefore, some innovation indicators in the final model are excluded. At the same time, it may also be a problem of program or execution in the execution process of strategy.
Point 6: The A/AA, in my opinion, should highlight the implications of the work by discussing how the findings contribute to the body of knowledge (enriching existing theory and helping improve managerial/institutional practice). In particular, could be interesting to highlight the work’s impact upon society and public policy (influencing attitudes, affecting society). The A/AA should also highlight the originaly of their work.
Response 6: This study has made some personal attempts based on the concern for regional economic development and the interest in innovation-driven strategy,. Although it has also carried out the innovation work with the greatest personal ability, it still feels that there are deficiencies.
Our amendment is as follows:
(Please see Line 65-73, Page 2)
To cope with the weak recovery of international economy and the unfavorable external development environment, China should further promote the rationalization proposal of the innovation-driven strategy. It can also provide a useful reference for other countries to formulate economic development strategies. Therefore, this study first assumes that China's innovation-driven strategy impacts all aspects of the macro-economy, and then assumes that China's innovation-driven factors have a positive effect on the quality of economic development. Then, the impact of China's innovation-driven strategy on the quality of economic development (EDQ) is tested by econometric analysis.
(Please see Line 78-80, Page 2)
These research methods are helpful to enrich the study model of Chinese economy and improve management practice. It can also have a positive impact on improving social and public policy.
（2）Minor comments:
Point 1: •I would like to remind the A/AA that the abstract should be a total of about 200 words maximum. Please, rewrite it.
Response 1: It has been done.
Point 2: •The A/AA should do professional proofreading in order to improve the readability of the work.
Response 2: Our team members have proofread it carefully three times, and one of co-authors is a native English speaker.
Finally, thank you again for your valuable comments!
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The main proposed adjustments were made: improvements in the manuscript in terms of background, references and English language. The proposed adjustments for the inclusion of hypotheses were not carried out; inclusion of a results discussion section or adjustments to the equations.A mandatory correction was missing: remove the paragraph between lines 220 and 222 because the information does not match the numbering of the sections of the manuscript. There is already a correct paragraph in lines 88 to 91.
Author Response
We thank you for your detailed comments and suggestions on our paper. We apologize for the trouble caused to the reviewer due to the carelessness of the team. We explain the following two points as follows.
Response to Reviewer 1 (Round 2) Comments
Point 1: The main proposed adjustments were made: improvements in the manuscript in terms of background, references and English language. The proposed adjustments for the inclusion of hypotheses were not carried out; inclusion of a results discussion section or adjustments to the equations.
Response 1: Our amendment is as follows:
Assumptions of this paper:
- China's innovation-driven strategy impacts all aspects of the macro-economy.
- China's innovation-driven factors have a positive effect on the quality of economic development.
- Innovation driving factors have a positive impact on the quality of economic de-velopmentthe (EDQ).(Please see Line 207-212, Page 6)
China's innovation driven strategy has a positive impact on economic development, that is, the second hypothesis of this paper is true, but the IDI does not form a multiple ef-fect.
The impact of China's innovation driving factors on the quality of economic de-velopment is incomplete, and the impact of some factors is limited, that is, the third hy-pothesis of this paper is not fully established. (Please see Line 624-625,and 629-631, Page 20)
At the same time, the indicators of multiple regression analysis are moved (Please see Line 231-233 , Page 6)
Point 2: A mandatory correction was missing: remove the paragraph between lines 220 and 222 because the information does not match the numbering of the sections of the manuscript. There is already a correct paragraph in lines 88 to 91.
Response 2: Our amendment is as follows:
The comments here have been changed in full accordance with the requirements, especially the serial number of the equation has been rearranged and numbered, as well as the correspondence with the content.
At the same time, the 8th reference in the original text is replaced by Goh’s literature because the latter document studies Porter's innovation-driven theory earlier and more deeply. The reason why Goh’s literature was not quoted at the beginning was explained in the previous cover letter, which will not be explained here.
(Please see Line 718-719 , Page 23)
Finally, thank you again for your valuable comments!
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
