The evolution of networks of innovators within and across borders: Evidence from patent data

Recent studies on the geography of knowledge networks have documented a negative impact of physical distance and institutional borders upon research and development (R&D) collaborations. Though it is widely recognized that geographic constraints and national borders impede the diffusion of knowledge, less attention has been devoted to the temporal evolution of these constraints. In this study we use data on patents filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) for OECD countries to analyze the impact of physical distance and country borders on inter-regional links in four different networks over the period 1988-2009: (1) co-inventorship, (2) patent citations, (3) inventor mobility and (4) the location of R&D laboratories. We find the constraint imposed by country borders and distance decreased until mid-1990s then started to grow, particularly for distance. We further investigate the role of large innovation "hubs" as attractors of new collaboration opportunities and the impact of region size and locality on the evolution of cross-border patenting activities. The intensity of European cross-country inventor collaborations increased at a higher pace than their non-European counterparts until 2004, with no significant relative progress thereafter. Moreover, when analyzing networks of geographical mobility, multinational R&D activities and patent citations we cannot detect any substantial progress in European research integration above and beyond the common global trend

Reverse Technology Transfer: A Patent Citation Analysis of the European Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sectors

One consequence of the internationalisation of R&D, particularly in high-tech sectors such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals, may be the transfer of foreign technology from the multinational to other firms in its home country. This phenomenon, which may be termed inter-firm reverse technology transfer, has not yet been directly analysed by either the international management literature or the literature on foreign direct investment. But its implications for policy – particularly in Europe – may be significant. Drawing on the evolutionary theory of the multinational, and on the concept of embeddedness, this paper is a first attempt at addressing this issue. We test the hypothesis of inter-firm reverse technology transfer by performing a patent citation analysis on a database of USPTO patents applied for by 24 chemical and pharmaceutical companies over the period 1980-99. Our findings suggest that multinationals act as a channel for the transmission of knowledge developed abroad to other home country firms. These results point to an alternative understanding of foreign direct R&D investment and its implications for both the home country’s technological activity, and its competitive performance in generalMultinational firms; patent citation; embeddedness; international technology transfer

Reverse Technology Transfer: A Patent Citation Analysis of the European Chemical and Pharmaceutical sectors

One consequence of the internationalisation of R&D, particularly in high-tech sectors such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals, may be the transfer of foreign technology from the multinational to other firms in its home country. This phenomenon, which may be termed inter-firm reverse technology transfer, has not yet been directly analysed by either the international management literature or the literature on foreign direct investment. But its implications for policy – particularly in Europe – may be significant. Drawing on the evolutionary theory of the multinational, and on the concept of embeddedness, this paper is a first attempt at addressing this issue. We test the hypothesis of inter-firm reverse technology transfer by performing a patent citation analysis on a database of USPTO patents applied for by 29 chemical and pharmaceutical companies over the period 1980-99. Our findings suggest that multinationals, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, act as a channel for the transmission of knowledge developed abroad to other home country firms. These results point to an alternative understanding of foreign direct R&D investment and its implications for both the home country’s technological activity, and its competitive performance in general.economics of technology ;

Communities, Knowledge, and Innovation: Indian Immigrants in the US Semiconductor Industry

This paper investigates the influence of technological, geographic, and ethnic communities on the innovativeness of Indian inventors. We study Indian inventors in the semiconductor industry in the US and examine their patenting profiles between 1975 and 1999 to identify the influences on the quantity and quality of their innovations. We find that inventors who rely on knowledge from technological and geographic communities enhance their innovativeness. Knowledge from the ethnic Indian community is related to inventor innovativeness in the form of an inverted U. The negative effect of knowledge gained from the ethnic community on innovativeness is pronounced for experienced inventors.innovation, knowledge, semiconductor industry

Conceptualizing the Role of Geographical Proximity in Project Based R&D Networks: A Literature Survey

Empirical evidence shows that research is being carried out more in cooperation or in collaboration with others, and the networks described by these collaborative research activities are becoming more and more complex. This phenomenon brings about new strands of research questions and opens up a different research context in the area of geography of innovation. The recent set of literature addressing these new issues shows a high degree of variation in terms of focus, approaches and methodology. Hence to elucidate the relationship between networks and geography it is crucial to have a review them. In this regard, this study focuses on a particular type of networks, namely, project based R&D networks and aims at describing the state-of-the-art in explaining the specificity of geography in formation and evolution of such networks. Towards this aim, we framed the discussion along four lenses: the specificity of geography in partner choice, in successful execution of the collaboration, in the resulting innovation performance both at the organizational and regional level, and the spatio-temporal evolution of networks. The overview provided by the survey is suggestive regarding the theorization of geography and network relationship, and informative regarding the issues demanding further research effort, and promising extensions.

Network dynamics in regional clusters: The perspective of an emerging economy

Regional clusters are spatial agglomerations of firms operating in the same or connected industries, which enable innovation and economic performance for firms. A wealth of empirical literature shows that one of key elements of the success of regional clusters is that they facilitate the formation of local inter-organizational networks, which act as conduits of knowledge and innovation. While most studies analyze the benefits and characteristics of regional cluster networks and focus on advanced economies and high tech Ôhot spotsÕ, this paper advances with the existing literature by analyzing network dynamics and taking an emerging economyÕs perspective. Using longitudinal data of a wine cluster in Chile and stochastic actor-oriented models for network dynamics, this paper examines what micro-level effects influence the formation of new knowledge ties among wineries. It finds that the coexistence of cohesion effects (reciprocity and transitivity) and the presence of inter-firm knowledge base heterogeneity contribute to the stability of an informal hierarchical network structure over time. Empirical results have interesting implications for cluster competitiveness and network studies, and for the burgeoning literature on corporate behavior in emerging economies.Regional clusters, knowledge networks, network dynamics, wine industry, Chile

The strategic allocation of inventors to R&D collaborations

Safeguarding against unintended leakage of valuable knowledge in R&D collaboration requires careful attention to the role of inventors participating in these collaborations. In this paper, we claim that the degree of protection of the knowledge embodied by inventors affects how an opportunistic partner can use this information when technology leakage occurs. The implication is that those inventors whose set of knowledge is more protected are more likely to be assigned to joint activities than their co-workers. By relying on patent ownership and authorship data, we analyze the allocation of inventors to collaborative projects from a sample of large pharmaceutical firms. Our results confirm that inventors are strategically allocated to projects according to their degree of preemptive power.Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competition through project no ECO2012-33427 is gratefully acknowledge

Knowledge network dynamics in clusters: past performance and absorptive capacity

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which absorptive capacity and previous innovative performance affect network dynamics, specifically in the creation or destruction of inter-business relationships. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical study has drawn on the data collected in an industrial cluster located in the Valencian Community in Spain. This population of firms allowed us to test various roles played by network endogenous forces, absorptive capacity and former performance in the creation and dissolution of inter-organisational linkages. The authors followed an evolutionary approach and applied network analysis techniques. Findings - Empirical evidences suggest that absorptive capacity and previous innovative performance are predictors of inter-business relationships. Absorptive capacity affects the emergence of linkages in the technological network, due to the tacit nature of technological knowledge. On the other hand, previous innovative performance is an indicator to identify leaders companies. These companies tend to increase the reception of request for advice from local firms. Moreover, prestigious companies tend to be more selective in choosing collaborators. Practical implications - This study helps researchers and managers better understand network dynamics. The generation of inter-organisational relationships in clusters can be determined by cognitive proximity and prestigious status in the network. These evidences are relevant in a mature cluster where knowledge is asymmetrically distributed. Originality/value - Over the last few decades, studies on industrial clusters have evolved from the "canonical" standpoint. Nowadays, researchers usually take a more sophisticated and richer view of this reality, mainly as a consequence of the inclusion the proximity concept, intra-cluster heterogeneity and advanced analysis of overlapping between networks and territory. Thus, the authors try to add some empirical evidence along these lines.Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ECO2015-67122-R) and the Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2015/079) is gratefully acknowledged.Belso Martínez, JA.; Expósito Langa, M.; Tomas Miquel, JV. (2016). Knowledge network dynamics in clusters: past performance and absorptive capacity. Baltic Journal of Management. 11(3):310-327. https://doi.org/10.1108/BJM-02-2015-0044S31032711