A relational approach to knowledge spillovers in biotech. Network structures as drivers of inter-organizational citation patterns

In this paper, we analyze the geography of knowledge spillovers in biotech by investigating the way in which knowledge ties are organized. Following a relational account on knowledge spillovers, we depict knowledge networks as complex evolving structures that build on pre-existing knowledge and previously formed ties. In economic geography, there is still little understanding of how structural network forces (like preferential attachment and closure) shape the structure and formation of knowledge spillover networks in space. Our study investigates the knowledge spillover networks of biotech firms by means of inter-organizational citation patterns based on USPTO biotech patents in the years 2008-2010. Using a Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model (SAOM), we explain the driving forces behind the decision of actors to cite patents produced by other actors. Doing so, we address directly the endogenous forces of knowledge dynamics.knowledge spillovers, network structure, patent citations, biotech, proximity

Atypical combinations of technologies in regional co-inventor networks

Novel combinations of technologies are usually the result of collaborative work that builds on existing knowledge. Albeit inventors and their respective communities tend to be specialized, inventor collaborations across differently specialized peers have the potential to generate co-inventor networks that provide access to a diverse set of knowledge and facilitate the production of radical novelty. Previous research has demonstrated that short access in large co-inventor networks enables innovative outcomes in regional economies. However, how connections in the network across different technological knowledge domains matter and what impact they might generate is still unknown. The present investigation focuses on ‘atypical’ combinations of technologies as indicated in patent documents. In particular, the role of technological specializations linked in co-inventor networks that result in radical innovation in European regions is analyzed. Our results confirm that the share of atypical patents is growing in regions where bridging ties establish short access to and across cohesive co-inventor sub-networks. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that the strong specialization of co-inventor communities in regions fosters atypical combinations because these communities manage to increase the scale and scope of novel combinations. Thus, bridges between communities that are specialized in different technologies favor atypical innovation outcomes. The work shows that not diversity per se, but links across variously specialized inventor communities can foster radical innovation

Geography and Branding in the Craft Beer Industry

Place-based branding strategies are important marketing tools for both regions and firms and take advantage of consumers’ embrace of the local in response to globalization. Craft brewing is a particularly salient user of these strategies and provides ample data. We find a strong, positive link between the number of place-based labels and a brewery’s rating, suggesting consumers are receptive to place-based branding.Check issue date and citation details on checkdate -- J

The relevance of scientific knowledge externalities for technological change and resulting inventions across European metropolitan areas

Contrary to perceptions in which technological development proceeds independently of scientific research, the interplay between science and technology has been recognized as an essential part in technological change, industrial competitiveness, and economic growth. While the process of knowledge exchanges between the nexus is conceptually well grounded in relevant literatures, the absence of quantitative measures and assessments of such linkages may underestimate the importance of scientific knowledge inputs for generating high-impact innovative outcomes. In this regard, we propose a large quantitative analysis on knowledge externalities from science to technology by investigating patent citations to science data across European metropolitan regions. First, we construct a dataset of patent citations to scientific knowledge that includes information on the spatial origins of knowledge spillovers. Subsequently, the ratio of internal scientific knowledge sourcing to external sources and its effect on patent citation impact is evaluated. Findings suggest that regions with a higher reliance on their internal scientific resources tend to generate inventions with higher technological impact, and that a strong connection between science and technology is even more effective in advanced industrial regions.European Commission Horizon 2020Science Foundation IrelandAccess provided by IREL Consortium c/o Maynooth University The Library Maynooth UniversityTo check citing and date details in 6

Mind the Gap: Advancing Evolutionary Approaches to Regional Development with Progressive Empirical Strategies

Explaining the persistently uneven spatial patterns of development remains a central goal of economic geography and regional science. Recognizing that regional development is a process of ongoing change, many scholars now approach the topic from an evolutionary perspective that identifies knowledge recombination processes and institutions as key drivers of change. However, research has not yet fully integrated the various theoretical perspectives and empirical data streams that characterize evolutionary approaches. The present contribution identifies how an evolutionary approach centered on knowledge and institutions can be integrated with complementary forms of evidence gathered from a variety of sources to advance our understanding of regional development. Expanding and integrating the evidence base used to study regional change has important implications for making effective and responsive policy instruments.European Commission Horizon 2020European Research CouncilScience Foundation Irelan

Construction of a Global Knowledge Input-Output Table

This paper describes the construction of the Knowledge Input-Output (KIO) table constructed as part of the RETHINK project. Using PATSTAT data on forty years of patent data from across the globae, the KIO table provides information on the number of patent applications across ten major patenting countries and the rest of the world and across 131 technology classifications. It further provides a network of patent citations, thus indicating how patents build from existing knowledge and contribute to the construction of further innovation. In addition to describing the KIO’s construction, we provide a number of stylized facts on patenting activity and the citation network. These facts illustrate the lessons that can be learned from patent citation data while also identifying potential pitfalls in their use

New Collaborations and Novel Innovations: The Role of Regional Brokerage and Collaboration Intensity

In this paper we investigate the role of brokers in the regional innovation network and its influence on innovative and collaborative outcomes. For this purpose, we make use of data from the European Patent Office and Eurostat in the period 1986-2015. We first build the regional collaboration network based on co-inventorship ties, then we identify the brokerage roles played by each region, using the original taxonomy proposed by Gould and Fernandez (1989), to disentangle their impact on innovation and collaboration. Finally, we investigate regional collaboration intensity and how it interacts with brokerage roles, highlighting its mediating effect. Our findings indicate that brokerage roles contribute to the extension of collaboration networks, but also that they are not efficient for the creation of innovation. Collaboration intensity, on the other hand, enhances both innovation and collaborative outcomes, and shows how a region can benefit from being a broker.European Commission Horizon 2020Science Foundation Irelan

The Science Space of Artificial Intelligence Knowledge Production

The present contribution seeks to map the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) knowledge as indicated through scientific publications. A set of principal keywords is employed in order to identify those publications that are related to AI in the Web of Science and the metadata provided by the database is then utilized to map the evolution of the field across different scales, i.e. the national, country and regional level. This analysis allows for the identification of potential AI “hotspots”, while also establishing places that have been leading in the development of AI knowledge from the onset vis-à-vis those that have managed to catch up over time. In addition, a network that illustrates international collaborative efforts in AI knowledge creation via co-authorships across nations and via the evolution of keywords’ co-occurrence across three decades is illustrated. It is evident that these networks have become denser with time, and that they have changed across regions. The objective of the present analysis is to enhance our understanding about where and how scientific AI knowledge is created, which in turn should encourage and assist future research efforts looking to study AI knowledge and its consequences

The role of MNEs in the genesis and growth of a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem

This article reports on a longitudinal process study of the critical role of anchor MNEs in the metamorphosis of a high-tech industrial cluster into a local entrepreneurial ecosystem. It draws on entrepreneurial ecosystem and international business literatures to frame the study of the genesis and evolutionary processes of an entrepreneurial ecosystem that emerged from two MNE subsidiaries, both of which had evolved into advanced R&D centres of excellence around a technology specialism. It shows how multiple new venture spinouts by former MNE employees introduced technological heterogeneity that catalysed into a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem. The theoretical and policy implications that can be drawn from this case study emphasize the existence of both technology specialism and heterogeneity for resilience in an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and that reaching such a position is evolutionary in nature.Science Foundation Irelan