The Influence of Knowledge Interaction and Open Innovation Ecosystems on Enterprise Innovation Performance in the Industrial Sector Using Structural Equation Modeling

Amidst accelerated technological iteration and innovation paradigm restructuring in the industrial sector, this study investigates how the synergistic mechanism between knowledge interaction capability (KIC) and open innovation ecosystems (OIE) drives enterprise innovation performance (EIP). Utilizing survey data from 314 high-tech manufacturing firms in Zhejiang Province, China, we constructed a structural equation model (SEM) integrating confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Bootstrap sampling (5,000 repetitions). The model incorporates three KIC dimensions – knowledge assimilation capability (KAC), transformation capability (KTC), and sharing capability (KSC) – dual OIE embeddedness (relational embeddedness NRE; structural embeddedness NSE), and EIP. Model fit indices significantly exceeded thresholds (χ²/df = 1.383, GFI = 0.907, CFI = 0.978, RMR = 0.044, RMSEA = 0.035). Core SEM path equations: EIP = 0.159·KAC + 0.164·KTC + 0.173·KSC + 0.247·NRE + 0.246·NSE, NSE = 0.294·KAC + 0.221·KTC + 0.180·KSC, NRE = 0.287·KAC + 0.215·KTC + 0.206·KSC. The results show that all three dimensions of KIC directly drive EIP (with KAC playing the most significant role), while the dual embeddedness of OIE plays a significant part of the mediating role, with KAC's mediating pathway through NSE contributing most prominently. This finding confirms the synergistic mechanism of “internal knowledge competence-external ecological embeddedness”. The study provides differentiated innovation strategies for industrial sectors: technology-intensive firms need to strengthen ecological niche construction to activate knowledge assimilation, while R&D-intensive organizations should optimize internal knowledge sharing to achieve direct value transformation