How does university–industry collaboration motivate enterprise participation and promote human resource development?

In the knowledge economy era, university-industry collaboration (UIC) has become a vital mechanism for fostering innovation, enhancing enterprise competitiveness, and strengthening human resource development. Yet, enterprise participation in UIC remains uneven and unpredictable, limiting the effectiveness of policies aimed at cultivating talent through academic-industry partnerships. To address this gap, this study integrates Social Cognitive Theory and Symbiosis Theory to develop a cognitive-symbiotic framework that explains the mechanisms driving enterprise willingness to participate in UIC and how such participation facilitates enterprise-level human resource development. Drawing on survey data from 398 Chinese enterprises and structural equation modeling, the findings reveal: (1) Observational learning of successful symbiotic relationships (β = 0.187), symbiotic self-efficacy (β = 0.312), and symbiotic outcome expectations (β = 0.385) significantly enhance enterprise participation willingness, while perceived symbiotic imbalance risk (β = -0.156) inhibits it; (2) Policy support indirectly promotes participation through a dual mediation pathway-enhancing symbiotic self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.163) and reducing imbalance risk perception (indirect effect = 0.037), with a total indirect effect of 0.232; (3) Innovation capability significantly moderates the effects of cognitive-symbiotic drivers on participation, amplifying their influence in high-innovation enterprises. This study uncovers the cognitive-psychological and relational mechanisms underpinning enterprise engagement in UIC and highlights how such engagement contributes to organizational learning, capability upgrading, and long-term human resource development. It offers actionable insights for policymakers to design dual-pathway interventions that simultaneously build participation confidence and reduce perceived relational risks, and for enterprise leaders to leverage UIC as a strategic channel for developing high-quality talent and innovation capacity.