Incentive mechanism of supply-demand equilibrium in science and technology talent policies on innovation willingness: An empirical study from China based on the perceived benefit-risk framework

The crux of scientific and technological innovation is talent, thus, examining the impact of the supply-demand equilibrium of talent policies in science and technology on innovation willingness provides a theoretical foundation for refining government innovation policies and enhancing human capital efficiency in technological innovation. In this study, we proposed a theoretical framework integrating the Expectancy Theory of Motivation and the Policy Acceptance Model, with the objective of investigating this incentive mechanism. Empirical analysis, facilitated by two mediating variables, policy perceived benefits and administrative burden, revealed that only supply-side policy supply-demand equilibrium has a significant positive impact on innovation willingness, while the supply-demand equilibrium of demand-based policies and the supply-demand equilibrium of institutional-environmental policies have no significant impact. This is likely due to the fact that supply-side policy equilibrium directly and substantially enhances the valence, expectancy, and instrumentality of innovation behaviors among scientific and technological talents. It is important to note that administrative burden significantly moderates the impact of policy perceived benefits, and both factors serve as fully mediating internal mechanisms in this process. This research proffers novel evidence pertaining to the primacy of supply-side instruments in motivating innovation. Moreover, it provides a public economics foundation for the optimization of talent policies and the advancement of efficient innovation resource allocation.