Small worlds and regional innovation
Small worlds and regional innovation
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DOI：
10.1287/orsc.1070.0289
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发表时间：
2007-11-01
影响因子：
4.1
通讯作者：
Juda, Adam I.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Fleming, Lee;King, Charles, III;Juda, Adam I.
小世界网络在理论上备受关注，并且被广泛认为能够提升创造力。然而，关于其演变的实证研究以及其优势的证据仍然匮乏。我们开发并利用一个关于专利合著的新数据库来研究合作网络对创新的影响。我们的分析揭示了专利合作网络中区域小世界结构的存在以及巨型组件的出现和消失。通过使用统计模型，我们进行了检验，但没有发现小世界结构（由偶尔的非本地联系连接的紧密集群）能提高地理区域内创新生产力的证据。我们确实发现更短的路径长度和更大的连通组件都与创新的增加相关。我们讨论了我们的研究结果对未来社会网络研究和理论以及区域创新政策的影响。
Small-world networks have attracted much theoretical attention and are widely thought to enhance creativity. Yet empirical studies of their evolution and evidence of their benefits remain scarce. We develop and exploit a novel database on patent coauthorship to investigate the effects of collaboration networks on innovation. Our analysis reveals the existence of regional small-world structures and the emergence and disappearance of giant components in patent collaboration networks. Using statistical models, we test and fail to find evidence that small-world structure (cohesive clusters connected by occasional nonlocal ties) enhances innovative productivity within geographic regions. We do find that both shorter path lengths and larger connected components correlate with increased innovation. We discuss the implications of our findings for future social network research and theory as well as regional innovation policies.