Density and strength of ties in innovation networks: a competence and governance view.

innovation, networks

Density and Strength of Ties in Innovation Networks: An Analysis of Multi-Media and Biotechnology

In this article we provide an empirical illustration of hypotheses, developed in the literature, on the role of density and strength of ties in innovation networks.We study both exploration and exploitation networks in the Dutch multimedia and pharmaceutical biotechnology industry.We find support for most of our hypotheses but not all.These findings, in line with the mixed results in the literature, seem to indicate that the distinction between exploration versus exploitation, albeit useful, is still too general.There may be a stronger sectoral effect in how exploration and exploitation settle in network structural properties than anticipated thus far.innovation;networks;density;strength of ties;governance;biotechnology;multimedia

Density And Strength Of Ties In Innovation Networks: A Competence And Governance View

This article studies density and strength of ties in innovation networks. It combines issues of ‘competence’ with issues of ‘governance’. It argues that in networks for exploration there are good reasons, counter to the thesis of the ‘strength of weak ties’, for a dense structure of ties that are strong in most dimensions. In exploitation, there are good reasons for structures that are non-dense, with ties that are strong in other dimensions than in networks for exploration. Evidence is presented from two longitudinal empirical studies of the emergence and development of networks in the multimedia and pharmaceutical biotechnology industries.governance;innovation;networks;biotechnology;multi-media;strength of ties

Density and Strength of Ties in Innovation Networks: A Competence and Governance View

Taking into account both competence and governance issues, and six dimensions of tie strength, this article argues that in networks for exploration there are good reasons, counter to the thesis of the 'strength of weak ties', for a dense structure of ties that are strong in most dimensions.By contrast, in exploitation networks there are good reasons for structures that are non-dense, with ties that are strong in other dimensions than in networks for exploration.innovation;networks;strength of ties;governance;biotechnology;multi-media

Density and strength of ties in innovation networks : an analysis of multimedia and biotechnology

In this article we provide an empirical illustration of hypotheses, developed in the literature, on the role of density and strength of ties in innovation networks.We study both exploration and exploitation networks in the Dutch multimedia and pharmaceutical biotechnology industry.We find support for most of our hypotheses but not all.These findings, in line with the mixed results in the literature, seem to indicate that the distinction between exploration versus exploitation, albeit useful, is still too general.There may be a stronger sectoral effect in how exploration and exploitation settle in network structural properties than anticipated thus far.

In search of the origins of novelty : exploring novel combinations in allopatric speciation

Innovation theory tends to focus on the carrying of invention into innovation rather than the emergence of an invention itself. In evolutionary terms, innovation theory focuses on selection and retention rather than on the creation of new variety. This paper aims to develop an understanding of the mechanisms that generate variety. To do so, we will make use of the insights provided by the evolutionary concept of ‘allopatric speciation’ in order to inform us on how and under which conditions novelty comes about. We interpret this notion in the context of interfirm innovation networks and discuss the emergence of two new industries in the Netherlands, the multimedia industry and the pharmaceutical biotechnology industry. The empirical analysis indicates that novelty indeed originates in allopatric speciation, although how this occurs differs between the two industries