Evaluation of Innovation Efficiency and Pharmaceutical Industry Performance in China's Listed Companies: A Three-Stage DEA and Tobit Analysis

• • The average innovation efficiency of Chinese pharmaceutical listed companies was 0.72 in the first-stage DEA, improving to 0.85 after adjusting for environmental factors, indicating that external conditions account for a 13% efficiency gap. • • Government subsidies positively influenced innovation efficiency, with a coefficient of 0.15 (p<0.01), while market competition negatively impacted efficiency, with a coefficient of -0.08 (p<0.05), highlighting the need for balanced policy interventions. • • R&D intensity was a significant determinant, with a 1% increase in R&D expenditure as a percentage of sales associated with a 0.23% increase in innovation efficiency (p<0.01), underscoring the importance of sustained R&D investment. • • Firm size exhibited a U-shaped relationship with innovation efficiency, with the turning point at total assets of approximately 5 billion RMB, suggesting that small and very large firms are more efficient, while mid-sized firms face challenges.