Research on the Innovation Capability Driving Paths and Effects of Smart Cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region—A Dynamic QCA Analysis Based on the Innovation Ecosystem Framework

Abstract In the era of digital and intelligent transformation, studying the innovation capacity of smart cities is of great value for promoting the high-quality development of modern cities. Based on the framework for optimizing and expanding the innovation ecosystem and the Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) method, a configuration analysis was conducted on 28 smart city innovation capability driving paths in the Yangtze River Delta region of China, and with the help of regression analysis, the driving effects of different paths were compared. The study found that first, there is no single necessary condition to drive the innovation capacity of smart cities; Second, there are four high innovation-driven paths for smart cities in the Yangtze River Delta region: "smart innovation resources" driven M1, "smart innovation environment" driven M2, "smart innovation subject + innovation environment" driven M3, "smart innovation subject" driven M4a and M4b, among which the M4a path has the strongest driving effect. In the future, we should build an innovation hub platform for smart cities, promote the integrated development model of "talent chain + capital chain", build a new infrastructure of smart technology and a fair competition business environment system, and enhance the innovation capacity of smart cities.