Social Network Analysis of the ISPIM Innovation Management Community in 2009 - 2011

Scientific communities are bound together by common purpose and interests, and tangible evidence of the structure of such communities may be found by investigating co-authorship networks. We utilise social network analysis to examine the network structure of ISPIM (International Society for Professional Innovation Management), using co-authorship data from six ISPIM events during the years 2009-2011. We find interesting evidence of the network structure, illustrating vividly the central authors and sub-components of the network. Related to this, results reveal surprisingly tight clustering based on geographical and institutional boundaries. We also find evidence of high performing authors which span these boundaries via significantly different strategies. Overall, the results help to uncover the underlying structure of the scholarly network behind ISPIM, which helps to better understand the key contributors and their networks, and also the development points and promising research collaboration opportunities

Networks of Innovation : Measuring Structure and Dynamics between and within Helices, Regions and Spatial Levels. Empirical Evidence from the Baltic Sea Region

In the quantitative, macro-oriented triple helix literature, synergy is measured indirectly, through patent data, firm data and other secondary statistical sources. These macro-level quantitative studies do not open up for understanding how different processes of cooperation create different outcomes, in terms of synergies. This article presents an alternative method of measuring quantitatively how different networks of innovation in a variety of ways create different types of complex synergies. This opens up for an empirical analysis of variations of synergy formation, seen as innovation networks with different structures, formed within and between helices, regions and geographical levels. Data was collected through a snapshot survey in 10 regional cases in the Baltic Sea Region. The analysis presents how different networks of innovation within and between helices are formed by different combinations of expectations, experiences and gaps.© Seija Virkkala and Åge Mariussen, 2021. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.The authors received funding from the project LARS (Learning Among Regions on Smart Specialisation) implementing the INTERREG Baltic Sea Region Programme 2014–2020.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

La territorialisation des activités scientifiques dans le sud-ouest européen (France, Espagne, Portugal)

International audienceThe territorialization of scientific activities in the South-West of Europe (France, Spain and Portugal). For more than twenty years, most of european countries are involved in a process og regional decentralization of their higher education systems. This process follows a previous set of universities creations in the sixties years, answering the increase of students number. We examine here three countries of South-West of europe (Spain, France and Portugal) and we link the history of universities creation in different regions and towns and the study of scientific publications. This allow us to evaluate the effects of the territorialization process on the current « scientific map ».La plupart des pays européens sont engagés depuis une vingtaine d'années dans un processus de déconcentration régionale de leurs systèmes d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche. Ce processus fait suite à un précédent mouvement de création d'établissements d'enseignement supérieur dans les années soixante, pour faire face à la croissance des effectifs d'étudiants. Nous examinons ici trois pays du sud-ouest européen (Espagne, France et Portugal) en mettant en rapport l'histoire des implantations universitaires et l'étude des publications scientifiques, ce qui permet d'évaluer les effets de ces processus de territorialisation sur la « carte scientifique » actuelle

Gender quotas or girls’ networks? Towards an understanding of recruitment in the research profession in Italy

This article investigates the role of the gender composition of selection committees and networks in promoting women in research activities. We exploit a novel data set on recruitment processes at entry-level research positions in a leading Italian research centre that mainly operates in hard science. We find some evidence of discrimination against women at non-tenured entry levels, which is attenuated (or even reversed) by the presence of a woman on the selection committee. However, the most important predictor for recruitment seems to be previous connections with the research centre, which also serves as an important mechanism for women to enter the research profession. We conclude that quotas could be a solution for gender-biased preferences towards same-sex candidates in selection committees for non-tenure-track positions. Moreover, more gender-neutral networks would be another mechanism to bring more equality between men and women in research

Network failure: Biotechnology firms, clusters and collaborations far from the world superclusters

This article traces the trajectory of biotechnology firms, clusters and collaborations in Australia between 2003 and 2014. Combining descriptive analyses, network visualizations and statistical modelling of longitudinal data collected from multiple sources, we investigate Australian firms’ ability to overcome the three challenges characterizing biotechnology: first, accessing new knowledge and intellectual property; second, raising early-stage funding for timely product development; and third, bringing products to market. Like biotechnology firms worldwide, Australian firms adopt a network approach to success, relying on different types of collaborative ties with diverse partners to access complementary resources and facilitate learning and innovation. The aspiration here is a virtuous cycle, where networks promote innovation and innovation promotes networks, as occurs in the world superclusters. In contrast, our analyses show that the collaborations of Australian biotechnology firms produce not so much a virtuous cycle, as a dead end. Specifically, local collaborations with public research organizations generate network effects in meeting the challenges of new knowledge and early-stage funding, but do not extend to the challenge of bringing products to market. We link this 'network failure' to the limitations of public research organizations as anchor tenants with the capability to catalyze collaborations with distant partner organizations directed towards commercialization, in particular giant multinational pharmaceutical corporations. Our study enriches the substantial literature on networked innovation, which is biased towards celebrating the benefits of networks and collaborations for innovation and performance, particularly in biotechnology

Collaboration and research performance in Science: A study of scientists at the National University of Mexico (UNAM)

The present study looks at the relationship between collaboration and performance in science in a sample of 15 Mexican researchers from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) with high visibility in the international scientific literature. Three scientists were chosen from each of the following fields where the UNAM is known to make important contributions to world science: Biomedical Research, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Geosciences. The links that the scientists had established with the international scientific community were analysed using a combination of methodologies. Curricular, bibliometric and scientometric data were used to determine aspects such as: a)the research trajectory and environment of the 15 scientists; b)their publications in mainstream and non-mainstream literature and c)the relationship of these parameters with other variables, such as age and disciplines; d)co-authorships with institutional, national and foreign colleagues; e)the effect of sabbaticals and other prolonged visits to institutions abroad on the production of papers and co-authorship patterns; and f)the relationship between co-authorship and citations patterns. Taking into consideration that behind the bibliometric data is a multi-layered social world constructed of and driven along by the communication behaviour of individuals, which can be determined only by consulting the scientists concerned, the 15 scientists were asked to answer a questionnaire and were subsequently interviewed. Questions were designed to test the validity of assumptions derived from the analysis of the data in the first part of the study, as well as to determine the importance of links established with colleagues abroad, especially during sabbaticals. Results indicate the importance of contact and collaboration with foreign colleagues in the development of the research careers of Mexican scientists, as well as for facilitating their integration into the wider scientific community. The repercussions of this individual activity for the development of Mexican research is discussed, particularly in relation to possible gains for other colleagues and in the training of new researchers

La territorialisation comme contrepoint à l'internationalisation des activités scientifiques

Depuis quelques années déjà, (en particulier depuis l'apparition du classement de Shanghai en 2003), on perçoit en France, dans les medias , dans les colloques, sur les blogs et ailleurs, un discours hostile aux petites universités et aux antennes universitaires. Il faudrait en supprimer car elles entreraient en contradiction avec les nouvelles normes d'attractivité et de compétitivité au niveau mondial et capteraient des moyens qui manqueraient aux grands centres pour défendre leur position dans la compétition internationale. L'idée sous-jacente pourrait se résumer ainsi : « dans les activités scientifiques comme dans le monde économique, la mondialisation privilégie de grands centres reliés entre eux ». On reconnaît la thèse des « villes globales » (Sassen, 1991), reprise et approfondie à maintes reprises depuis sa formulation initiale (Scott, 2001 par exemple), appliquée dans ce cas aux centres scientifiques. En France, cette idée est mise au service d'une défense des grands centres — au premier rang desquels figure évidemment l'agglomération parisienne — jugés seuls capables de défendre la recherche française. Elle se complète de jugements négatifs sur les petites universités ou les antennes, qui n'atteindraient pas la « masse critique » et pratiqueraient un enseignement et une recherche de qualité inférieure. Il faudrait éviter de disperser les moyens publics et ne soutenir que les sites « d'excellence ». Ce discours rappelle à ceux qui connaissent l'histoire du système scientifique français des débats de la fin du XIXe siècle, lorsque les gouvernements de la IIIe République voulaient sélectionner 5 ou 6 villes pour y installer des universités susceptibles de concurrencer leurs homologues allemandes (Karady, 1986)