The Influence of the Evolution of the Innovative Network on Technical Innovation from the Perspective of Energy Transformation: Based on Analysis of the New Energy Vehicle Industry in China

Under the dual pressure of energy transformation and environmental protection, how to use the innovative network and enhance technical innovation (TI) are significant problems for new energy vehicle (NEV) enterprises in China. Based on the patent data of China's NEV industry from 2001 to 2022, combined with the logical framework of "Patent Analysis-Network Evolution-Empirical research", this study deeply discusses the influence of enterprises' innovative network on TI. It is shown that there is an inverse U-relationship between the cooperation breadth of the enterprises, and that the appropriate cooperation breadth favors TI. At the same time, structural holes, knowledge diversity and technical value have a significant positive impact on TI. In addition, the study performs a series of robustness tests and heterogeneity checks. The conclusions are conducive to further improving the study of the relationship between innovative networks and TI, which is important both theoretically and practically for promoting the energy transformation of automotive enterprises.