Concurrent Multi-Level Policy Implementation and the Technology Transfer Performance of Chinese Universities

Abstract Purpose This study investigates the effects of concurrent multi-level policy implementation on university technology transfer performance. It clarifies the moderating roles of government financial support and regional research and development (R&D) conditions. It further examines heterogeneous policy effects across university disciplinary characteristics, geographical locations, regional technology intermediary density, and industrial structure. The findings offer a refined empirical perspective for evaluating multi-level policy effectiveness and optimizing university technology transfer practices. They also provide guidance for strengthening basic research capacity and better integrating of basic and applied research in universities. Design/methodology/approach Panel data from 61 universities directly under the Ministry of Education spanning 2011–2019 were analyzed. We employed the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method to empirically test the specific impact of the concurrent implementation of local and university-level policies on university technology transfer. Additionally, moderating effect models and grouped regression are adopted to explore the underlying mechanisms. Findings The empirical results show that the concurrent implementation of local and university-level policies exerts a significantly positive impact on university technology transfer. Second, government financial support and the regional R&D environment play positive moderating roles in the relationship between the joint-treatment indicator and university technology transfer. Third, the positive effect is more salient in specific subsamples, including science and engineering universities, comprehensive universities, universities located in the eastern region, and universities situated in areas with a high density of science and technology intermediaries and a high proportion of the tertiary industry. Research limitations This study has two major limitations. First, due to data accessibility, the research observation window is limited to 2011–2019. Although this period covers the critical pre- and post-revision stage of the Law on the Promotion of the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements and enables the capture of short- and medium-term policy effects, the long-term evolutionary impacts of relevant policies remain to be further explored. Second, to ensure data integrity and sample representativeness, the research sample only covers universities directly affiliated with the Ministry of Education. Future studies can expand the sample scope to incorporate diverse types of higher education institutions to further generalize the existing empirical conclusions. Practical implications This study indicates that the effects of concurrent policy implementation exhibit significant regional and institutional heterogeneity, and that government financial support as well as the regional R&D environment positively moderate these effects. Based on this, in the future construction of multi-level policy systems and the optimization of the innovation ecosystem, it is necessary to balance the rigidity and flexibility of institutional design, improve policy efficiency, and facilitate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in universities. Originality/Value This study contributes to the extant literature on policy-driven university technology transfer by systematically examining the mechanisms and pathways of the concurrent implementation of local and university-level policies. Unlike prior studies that focus on single-dimensional policy analysis, this paper differentiates between individual policy effects and concurrent policy implementation. It further introduces government financial support and regional R&D conditions as moderating variables to clarify the contingent mechanisms of policy implementation. Combined with heterogeneity analysis of universities’ disciplinary attributes and regional environmental characteristics, this study reveals the differentiated operational logic of concurrent policy implementation across diverse scenarios. The extended research framework enriches the theoretical boundary of policy effectiveness research in university technology transfer, providing empirical evidence for optimizing technology innovation and transformation governance systems.