First-mover alliance: mission-oriented innovation policy implementation in Shenzhen’s low-altitude economy
研究深圳如何通过地方政府与领先私营企业结成的先行者联盟，有效实施使命导向型创新政策，推动低空经济发展，对政策制定者和产业研究者有参考价值。
Abstract This article explores the implementation of mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP) in China and examines how the vice-provincial Shenzhen delivers the novel low-altitude economy effectively. From the lens of the Chinese political economy, it highlights a first-mover alliance in which the local state works as a facilitator while leading private firms perform as consultants for integrating the government resources and industrial knowledge. This synergy forms a broader public–private partnership where high government commitment is an essential political foundation. With empirical studies of Shenzhen’s SF Express, Meituan and Heli-Eastern in developing urban air mobility, this research demonstrates how first-mover alliances implemented MOIP.