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Proximity is a crucial factor influencing innovation collaboration and performance. Most existing studies have primarily focused on the organizational level and been static in nature. Therefore, a further study on how proximity affects innovation performance is needed. This paper aims to fill this gap by highlighting the organizational, cognitive and geographical proximity in China’s open regional innovation system.

This paper analyzes the data from 2010 to 2015 through path analysis.

The results reveal that geographical proximity has a direct positive effect on regional innovation performance in China’s regional innovation system. It also shows that organizational proximity exerts a negative impact on absorptive capacity, and through it adversely affects regional innovation performance. In contrast, cognitive proximity is found to have a positive effect on absorptive capacity, enhancing regional innovation performance.

Based on these findings, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of proximity in innovation collaboration and performance. By highlighting the importance of different proximity types, it provides insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to foster regional innovation.