{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:19:16Z","timestamp":1760059156921,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748476800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Huaqiao University\u2019s Academic Project Supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","award":["2024HQYJ15","FJ2024BF039","FJ2025A033"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024HQYJ15","FJ2024BF039","FJ2025A033"]}]},{"name":"the Social Science Foundation Project of Fujian Province of China","award":["2024HQYJ15","FJ2024BF039","FJ2025A033"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024HQYJ15","FJ2024BF039","FJ2025A033"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Entropy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Identifying the structural characteristics of a collaboration network that influence firms\u2019 exploratory and exploitative innovation performance can help these firms enhance the output of innovation achievements and their core competitiveness. Based on 14,790 issued patents of 281 firms in the artificial intelligence industry in China, this study explores the complex nonlinear relationship between the structural characteristics of inter-organizational collaboration networks and firms\u2019 exploratory and exploitative innovation performance by using clustering algorithms and classifications based on information entropy or the Gini index. The results indicate the following: (1) The four characteristics of degree centrality, closeness centrality, the local clustering coefficient, and structural holes affect the exploratory and exploitative innovation performance of firms. (2) In different firm clusters, there are different characteristic combinations that provide firms with various development strategies to improve this performance. (3) There are different paths that firms can take to improve this performance, which should be comprehensively considered along with the development goals of firms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/e27060577","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T06:25:04Z","timestamp":1748499904000},"page":"577","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Exploratory and Exploitative Innovation Performance in the Artificial Intelligence Industry in China from the Perspective of a Collaboration Network: A Data-Driven Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Liping","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Business Administration, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, Fujian, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6924-9689","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hailin","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Business Administration, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, Fujian, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wenhao","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Business Administration, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, Fujian, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hanhui","family":"Qiu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Business Administration, Huaqiao University, Quanzhou 362021, Fujian, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5479-2873","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yenchun Jim","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Graduate Institute of Global Business and Strategy, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106, Taiwan"},{"name":"Hospitality Management, Ming Chuan University, Taipei 111, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"340","DOI":"10.1080\/13662716.2019.1633280","article-title":"Innovation ambidexterity: Balancing exploitation and exploration for startup and established restaurants and impacts upon performance","volume":"27","author":"Cho","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ind. 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