Evolution of Collaborative Relationships in Green Building Technology Innovation: A Multidimensional Proximity Perspective

High carbon emissions, resource shortage, and environmental degradation are prevalent challenges in the construction sector. Green building technology innovation (GBTI) has been widely developed to achieve sustainability. Inter-organizational collaboration facilitates a communication platform for stakeholders, characterized by network. However, few studies have specifically delved into the underpinnings of the evolution of GBTI collaboration networks and how proximity mechanisms underpin GBTI collaboration networks. Drawing on collaborative patents data from the Derwent Innovation Index, we empirically provide valuable insights into GBTI collaboration networks in China's construction industry from a multidimensional proximity perspective. Social network analysis (SNA) is deployed to construct and depict the spatial-temporal evolution paths of GBTI collaboration networks. Besides, quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) analysis is utilized to explore the driving factors of GBTI collaboration networks. The results reveal that GBTI collaboration networks become expansive and exhibit small-world properties. Organizational collaboration shows a multi-core radiative diffusion trend over temporal hierarchy. There are noticeable spillover effects within regional collaboration, which are closely related to geospatial agglomeration. Besides, the positive impacts of geographical and social proximity strengthen, whereas institutional and organizational proximity gradually diminish. Geographical proximity also acts as a moderator, showing a complementarity with institutional and organizational proximity, and a substitution with social proximity. This study not only enhances our understanding of collaborative innovation management but also gives profound insights into the evolutionary mechanism of collaborative relationships in GBTI. It provides valuable reference and guidance for formulating relevant policies and strategies.