Abstract:    Enhancing the independent innovation level of enterprises is of great significance to the sustainable development of industries. This paper selected A-share listed enterprises in China from 2010 to 2022 as a sample and explored the impact mechanism of corporate cooperative R&D on the corporate independent innovation level from the dynamic externality perspective. The results showed that: (1) corporate collaborative R&D helps to improve the level of corporate independent innovation and optimize the innovation structure of enterprises. This conclusion is still valid after endogeneity and robustness tests. (2) The mechanism test showed that corporate cooperative R&D improves the level of independent innovation of enterprises through three externality mechanisms: technology spillover effect, innovation cohort effect, and alleviation of financing constraints. (3) Further analysis showed that cooperative R&D of state-owned enterprises promotes the level of independent innovation more than that of non-state-owned enterprises, and cooperative R&D of high-tech industry, new energy automobile industry, and highly intelligent enterprises promotes the level of independent innovation less than that of other industries; cooperative R&D of enterprises has a medium- and long-term impact on the level of independent innovation. The findings of this paper have validated the promotional effect of cooperative R&D on the independent innovation level of enterprises, enriched the research perspective of cooperative R&D of enterprises, and will provide empirical evidence for the relevant R&D strategies of enterprises.

Key words: collaborative research and development, independent innovation level, dynamic externality, breakthrough innovation, incremental innovation