The Gradient Division of Labor Pattern and Four-Stage Evolutionary Logic of Cross-Regional Innovation Collaboration among Advanced Manufacturing Clusters under NVC Reconstruction

Minghui Li; Jiayi Huang

doi:10.6981/FEM.202611_7(11).0014

Authors

Minghui Li School of Management, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China
Jiayi Huang School of Information and Electronic Engineering, Shandong Technology and Business University, Yantai 264005, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6981/FEM.202611_7(11).0014

Keywords:

National Value Chain; Advanced Manufacturing Clusters; Cross-Regional Innovation Collaboration; Gradient Division of Labor Pattern; Four-Stage Evolutionary Logic; Independent and Controllable Industrial Chain.

Abstract

Against the dual backdrop of accelerating global industrial chain restructuring and China’s “independent and controllable” industrial chain strategy, building a National Value Chain (NVC) with domestic circulation as the main body has become a core issue for the high-quality development of China’s manufacturing industry. Based on gradient transfer theory, this paper systematically analyzes the formation mechanism of the NVC gradient division of labor pattern among advanced manufacturing clusters in the eastern, central, and western regions under the “triple coupling” pattern of industrial transfer, and reveals the role positioning of the east as an “innovation cradle,” the central region as a “transformation hub,” and the west as a “manufacturing cornerstone,” as well as the underlying collaborative motivations. On this basis, in response to the theoretical limitation that existing value chain analytical frameworks fail to incorporate forward-looking basic research into high value-added segments, this paper reconstructs a future-oriented NVC “smile curve” and proposes a four-stage evolutionary logic: “chain-supplementing innovation → chain-strengthening innovation → edge-forging innovation → technology-track leapfrogging innovation.” The study shows that the gradient division of labor pattern and the four-stage evolutionary logic constitute a “foundation-elaboration” progressive relationship: the former answers “how the pattern is formed,” while the latter answers “how the pattern evolves.” The four-stage progressive approach follows the objective laws of technological evolution. Collaborative modes deepen progressively across stages and policy priorities exhibit stage-specific differences. This paper provides a systematic analytical framework for understanding how advanced manufacturing clusters move from “fragmented division of labor” to “systemic synergy.”

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