Intelligent development of high-end equipment sub-industries: digital innovation ecosystem analysis

Purpose With ongoing technological advancements and profound shifts in industrial dynamics, the digital innovation ecosystem offers significant opportunities for transforming and developing the high-end equipment manufacturing industry (HEMI). However, there is limited research on how the digital innovation ecosystem influences intelligent development in HEMI, especially concerning the in-depth examination of key characteristics in each sub-industry. This paper examines HEMI sub-industries to explore the relationship between the digital innovation ecosystem and intelligent development. It also identifies how different sub-industries emphasize various ecosystem characteristic elements. The ultimate goal is to provide specific theoretical support and practical policy guidance for achieving intelligent development in each sub-industry. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model to analyze feature importance and evaluate the digital innovation ecosystem’s impact on intelligent development across HEMI sub-industries. By analyzing data from 181 enterprises across five sub-industries – aerospace equipment, ocean engineering equipment, satellite manufacturing and applications, rail transit equipment and intelligent manufacturing equipment – it identifies and ranks the contributions of ecosystem elements to intelligent development. The findings uncover critical trends and focal points within the ecosystem, providing nuanced and targeted guidance for practical implementation in each sub-industry. Findings The research findings indicate that the digital innovation ecosystem positively drives intelligent development across various sub-industries. However, differences exist in the impact of the digital innovation ecosystem on the intelligent development of different sub-industries. Notably, due to the distinct developmental characteristics inherent to each sub-industry, they place different emphases on selecting elements in the digital innovation ecosystem. These observations contribute to the formulation of differentiated development strategies and provide practical development pathways for a comprehensive understanding of the influencing mechanisms in each industry. Originality/value This paper elucidates the specific impacts of the digital innovation ecosystem on the intelligent development of HEMI sub-industries. Empirical research analyzes the selection emphasis on characteristic elements within the digital innovation ecosystem for each sub-industry, addressing gaps in detailed studies. By employing an MLP model and feature heatmaps through deep learning methods, this study offers a novel theoretical perspective on the intelligent development of enterprises across sub-industries.