Abstract: Using 194 Nobel Prize winners, 375 academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences and 291 of Chinese Academy of Engineering as research objects, this paper discusses the relations between original innovation driving factors and innovation performance from perspective of creativity research and psychology. The study indicates that better growth environment leads to the formation of innovative personality, creative thinking and innovative techniques, and the improvement of original innovative performance. Innovative personality has a significant influence on creative thinking which impacts on innovative techniques. Creative thinking plays intermediary role between innovative personality and the performance of original innovation, so do innovative techniques between creative thinking and the performance of original innovation. These factors completely mediate the growth environment and the performance of original innovation. Moreover, policy and system environment positively regulate influences between these factors and innovative innovation performance. Compared with academicians in China, Nobel laureates have advantages of creative thinking and innovative techniques.

Key words: original innovation, innovation performance, influencing factors, correlation analysis