As an intrinsic requirement and a crucial focal point for achieving high-level technological self-reliance and driving high-quality economic and social development in China, the cultivation and formation of new quality productive forces represent a complex process confronted with multifaceted theoretical and practical challenges that require systematic investigation and urgent resolution. This process fundamentally depends on the emergence of revolutionary technological breakthroughs to provide sustained momentum and structural support for its advancement. Within this context, understanding the foundational mechanism of technological formation and fostering the emergence of breakthrough technologies have become critical priorities for China's innovation-driven strategy.

Building upon the theoretical foundation of knowledge recombination, this study systematically investigates how specific characteristics of knowledge recombination—primarily knowledge distance and knowledge diversity—influence the formation of breakthrough technologies. The study further examines the moderating role of inventor collaboration intensity, making a critical distinction between inter-organizational and intra-organizational cooperation. To empirically validate the proposed theoretical framework, we constructed a comprehensive dataset comprising patent records from the United States synthetic biology sector spanning the period from 2004 to 2021. This sector constitutes an ideal empirical setting due to its inherently interdisciplinary nature, rapid knowledge obsolescence, and high-stakes innovation environment. These characteristics collectively create an amenable context for examining the dynamics between knowledge recombination and breakthrough technological outcomes.

The empirical analysis yields several significant findings that contribute to both theoretical understanding and practical application. First, the research confirms that both knowledge distance and knowledge diversity maintain inverted U-shaped relationships with the formation of breakthrough technologies. This nonlinear pattern suggests that while moderate levels of knowledge heterogeneity stimulate novel connections and creative synthesis, excessive cognitive distance or overwhelming diversity may exceed organizational absorption capacities and impede meaningful knowledge integration. Second, regarding contextual moderators, the intensity of inter-organizational collaboration significantly strengthens these observed inverted U-shaped relationships between knowledge recombination characteristics and technological breakthroughs. Conversely, intra-organizational collaboration demonstrates no statistically significant moderating effect. This differential impact highlights the unique value of cross-organizational partnerships in introducing complementary knowledge stocks, diverse problem-solving approaches, and alternative interpretive frameworks that collectively enhance the innovative potential of knowledge recombination processes.

This research makes substantive contributions to the theoretical discourse surrounding the origins and drivers of breakthrough technologies by providing nuanced insights into the complex interplay between knowledge structures, collaborative contexts, and innovative outcomes. From a practical perspective, the findings offer valuable guidance for scholars, innovation policymakers, and organizational leaders—particularly within China's ongoing pursuit of technological sovereignty and quality-driven development. By strategically configuring knowledge portfolios, optimizing collaboration patterns, and implementing governance mechanisms that foster productive cross-boundary exchanges, organizations and nations can systematically enhance their capacity to generate transformative technologies and accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces in strategic emerging sectors.

This study has theoretical and empirical contributions, but it also has limitations that point to future research. First, the generalizability of the findings, derived from synthetic biology, requires further validation. Second, the underlying mechanisms for the distinct effects of technologically-measured versus semantically-measured knowledge recombination on breakthrough technology remain unclear. Finally, while we examine the macro-level moderating role of collaboration, future work should investigate its micro-level foundations.