<p>Spillover effects are crucial mechanisms in enhancing national innovation capabilities. This study combines the theories of dual innovation and innovation value chain to construct analytical frameworks from the dual innovation value chain perspective. National innovation capabilities are deconstructed into four sub-dimensions of innovation capabilities: knowledge creation, knowledge absorption and sharing, technology commercialization, and technological agglomeration and radiation. An analytical framework for national innovation capabilities was employed to measure the innovation capabilities of 66 countries globally from 2010 to 2023. Based on this premise, this study constructs an analytical framework for multidimensional spillover effects and uses the spatial Durbin model to explore the vertical, horizontal, and cross-dimensional spillover effects of national innovation capabilities. We find that vertical and horizontal spillover effects occur intra-nationally, but not inter-nationally, while cross-dimensional spillover effects are present both intra-nationally and inter-nationally. This finding provides fresh evidence for research on innovation spillovers; distinguishing between intra- and inter-country spillovers unveils novel paths for future empirical inquiries. Based on these results, we recommend that policymakers prioritize strengthening domestic coordination across innovation stages while strategically engaging in international collaboration to harness cross-dimensional spillover benefits for enhanced national competitiveness.</p>