A Study on the Dual Mediation Mechanism and Spatial Spillover Effects of Sports Industry Agglomeration in Driving Green Economic Growth

A Study on the Dual Mediation Mechanism and Spatial Spillover Effects of Sports Industry Agglomeration in Driving Green Economic Growth | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A Study on the Dual Mediation Mechanism and Spatial Spillover Effects of Sports Industry Agglomeration in Driving Green Economic Growth Jin Dong, Feixiong Qin This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7127774/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (2005–2020), this study empirically explores how sports industry agglomeration impacts green economic growth and the innovative paths involved. Using the location entropy method, it constructs a Sports Industry Agglomeration Index (SII), and measures green growth with a Green GDP accounting framework (GGI). Analyses via two-way fixed - effects, mediation, and spatial Durbin models reveal (1) Sports industry agglomeration directly boosts green growth through scale effects and resource sharing, with a 1 - unit SII increase significantly raising GGI by 12.8%. (2) Technological innovation (TI) and industrial structure optimization (ISI) mediate this relationship, contributing 32.7% (via enhanced R&D and patents) and 21.4% (via increased tertiary and high - tech industry shares), respectively. (3) Significant spatial spillover effects exist, as a 1 - unit rise in neighboring regions' agglomeration levels drives local green growth by 8.6%. Case comparisons show Beijing's Olympic Center Area's high agglomeration lifted GGI by 15.8%, while Qinghai Province's dispersed industry caused green growth bottlenecks. Consequently, the study suggests innovation - driven paths like developing a "dual - circulation" industrial ecosystem, bolstering green tech incentives, refining regional cooperation mechanisms, and strengthening environmental regulations. These findings offer theoretical and empirical support for governments to optimize sports industry layouts and advance green, low - carbon transitions. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Sports industry agglomeration Green economic growth Technological innovation Industrial structure optimization Spatial spillover effects Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7127774","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":525019925,"identity":"f3adfb67-aa9b-4cb1-84a6-e40e307a12fd","order_by":0,"name":"Jin Dong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jin","middleName":"","lastName":"Dong","suffix":""},{"id":525019927,"identity":"c6306184-a030-4bb1-8306-f539484cc372","order_by":1,"name":"Feixiong Qin","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4klEQVRIie3QsWoCQRCA4YWFtRmzVrJLhHuFMQGxEHyVOQJWpr9SOLHyAQx5CUvLWRasTmwPtDjJCwhWATFaS8htOov96vlhZoSIokckpaso+wGdeOZjFpI01BtWhezYhUrdoghJNPTsYSYHWMKrb04DCvRqZEgpwN38yM2JSHSb/05sLn2fAMDuN0u2K9H9+KSavaRKSzIGnvh9yd1CEO5qEiUBDSGC4HHF6Swg0RJeDBFBqxwLdiGJzW9PJmaw8zW6SWHqb8Gtd4fvCw91I/86nbNBop9rknvmf+NRFEXR767Zq0kFQfcEaAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Feixiong","middleName":"","lastName":"Qin","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-15 07:53:36","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7127774/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7127774/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":93031736,"identity":"b147b474-f0a1-4486-9ac5-e0c08424b56f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":56686,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AStudyontheDualMediationMechanismandSpatia.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/586e6f84a60d4161dfb91c45.docx"},{"id":93031738,"identity":"6f113afb-1c07-41a2-9623-e26adee86885","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":4447,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"8228942d869945feaf17363deaf6845c.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/c5cad9dafec19c876a7cc018.json"},{"id":93031739,"identity":"3a753161-ea72-49b1-8261-ff781d3b3412","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"xml","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":92698,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"8228942d869945feaf17363deaf6845c1enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/be5e5e17a2079fca507bf5fe.xml"},{"id":93031737,"identity":"ac19f418-86c3-4ca6-825f-48aa46ab37ef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"wmf","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":862,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"image1.wmf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/d9ebfa9b7f05cad9a038a251.wmf"},{"id":93032838,"identity":"902954d8-d670-4379-af49-5f916d108f5a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:25:33","extension":"wmf","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":722,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"image2.wmf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/9e5a367794b7b3e4def3e145.wmf"},{"id":93031743,"identity":"f88b10e8-c482-439e-9231-77395d4fe098","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"wmf","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":924,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"image3.wmf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/1ba06ac3ea2637a58f100c65.wmf"},{"id":93031747,"identity":"fe8d3c13-059f-4132-8944-110bfc6f09e8","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"wmf","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1104,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"image4.wmf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/33bf683bccf4421423a37399.wmf"},{"id":93032837,"identity":"3103fe12-f93f-46b1-90fb-cc88cd308682","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:25:33","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":932,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlineimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/8fe5bda4a1cde298f81f8da3.png"},{"id":93032839,"identity":"7d693621-4f3d-40a1-8b19-3ef3f7e4fc51","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:25:33","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1370,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlineimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/fbfc9d0b048ab5d6a51cc5ce.png"},{"id":93031741,"identity":"3aa29c7c-d19f-48f6-9e57-fd776bff9cb0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":1478,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlineimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/e5e50d19f3161e09df7f33bc.png"},{"id":93031746,"identity":"e6516a37-5868-46f9-8b0b-006a8dd67cb7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":2026,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlineimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/290267af02707356fe7bc5e0.png"},{"id":93031745,"identity":"71f94585-e015-4f73-a9c7-8c5608359aca","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"xml","order_by":11,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":91637,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"8228942d869945feaf17363deaf6845c1structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/a670e1e71e540c929af4f176.xml"},{"id":93031748,"identity":"5c8d3d23-e369-45ed-a573-f721f53ca077","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-08 10:17:33","extension":"html","order_by":12,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":97787,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1/96b428894802781d145c3dc1.html"},{"id":95528618,"identity":"d647df2c-27cf-44af-ac99-6b703bda55be","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-10 10:16:20","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":403546,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AStudyontheDualMediationMechanismandSpatia.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7127774/v1_covered_469fc810-864f-4eaa-9373-2fa85b3f312d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A Study on the Dual Mediation Mechanism and Spatial Spillover Effects of Sports Industry Agglomeration in Driving Green Economic Growth","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sports industry agglomeration, Green economic growth, Technological innovation, Industrial structure optimization, Spatial spillover effects","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7127774/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7127774/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eBased on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (2005\u0026ndash;2020), this study empirically explores how sports industry agglomeration impacts green economic growth and the innovative paths involved. Using the location entropy method, it constructs a Sports Industry Agglomeration Index (SII), and measures green growth with a Green GDP accounting framework (GGI). Analyses via two-way fixed - effects, mediation, and spatial Durbin models reveal\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1) Sports industry agglomeration directly boosts green growth through scale effects and resource sharing, with a 1 - unit SII increase significantly raising GGI by 12.8%.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2) Technological innovation (TI) and industrial structure optimization (ISI) mediate this relationship, contributing 32.7% (via enhanced R\u0026amp;D and patents) and 21.4% (via increased tertiary and high - tech industry shares), respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(3) Significant spatial spillover effects exist, as a 1 - unit rise in neighboring regions' agglomeration levels drives local green growth by 8.6%. Case comparisons show Beijing's Olympic Center Area's high agglomeration lifted GGI by 15.8%, while Qinghai Province's dispersed industry caused green growth bottlenecks. Consequently, the study suggests innovation - driven paths like developing a \"dual - circulation\" industrial ecosystem, bolstering green tech incentives, refining regional cooperation mechanisms, and strengthening environmental regulations. These findings offer theoretical and empirical support for governments to optimize sports industry layouts and advance green, low - carbon transitions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Study on the Dual Mediation Mechanism and Spatial Spillover Effects of Sports Industry Agglomeration in Driving Green Economic Growth","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-08 10:17:28","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7127774/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e3f7c5c7-4c86-4ab6-af96-301b83181b46","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 8th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":55796862,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":55796863,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-09T10:38:24+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-08 10:17:28","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7127774","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7127774","identity":"rs-7127774","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}