Abstract: The realization of disruptive innovation in the aviation manufacturing industry is of great significance to the improvement of China’s national defense industry and national industrial capacity. From the perspective of the innovation ecosystem, this study reveals the mechanism of disruptive innovation in the aviation manufacturing industry under a dual institutional logic. The findings show that, during the system’s foundation stage, government logic dominates, with few and dispersed innovation entities mainly engaging in passive, government-led collaboration. This phase emphasizes localization and innovation based on imitation, achieving a breakthrough from zero to one in China’s aviation manufacturing industry. In the system-building stage, government logic remains dominant, while market logic begins to be integrated, leading to the formation of hierarchical structures and initial industry clusters among key members within the system, resulting in steady growth in disruptive innovation outcomes. In the system development stage, both government and market logic play significant roles, with rapid growth of industry clusters centered around core enterprises, leading to an increase in the scale and strength of disruptive innovations. Finally, in the system enhancement stage, market logic takes the lead, fostering a complex R&D collaboration network, which drives explosive growth in disruptive innovation outcomes. These findings not only enrich innovation ecosystem theory and disruptive innovation theory, but also provide valuable insights for disruptive innovation in China’s aviation manufacturing industry.

Key words: disruptive innovation, innovation ecosystem, institutional logic, aviation manufacturing industry