Abstract The commercialization of intellectual property has become a fundamental avenue for universities to improve regional competitiveness. However, large-scale empirical studies on patent transfers, reflecting technology and knowledge sharing, remain limited. This study used social network analysis to investigate university technology flows in China based on patent assignments from technological, organizational, and regional perspectives. The results firstly revealed clear stage characteristics in the number of university patent assignments with the improvement of the Chinese version of the Bayh-Dole Act. Secondly, popular technologies in university technology flows mainly concentrated on measurement, testing, digital transmission, and other areas in which enterprises lack international competitive advantage. Thirdly, central actors comprised prestigious universities focusing on science, engineering, and comprehensive disciplines, along with intellectual property-focused enterprises. Finally, university technology flows gradually delocalized, and varied regional patterns exist owing to a spatial mismatch between university knowledge supply and regional demand. These findings have several practical and policy implications for government and university management in terms of promoting emerging technologies and clarifying universities’ functions in regional and national innovation systems. This study contributes to the economic geography literature on regional innovation.
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