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The roles of sharing, transfer, and public funding in nanotechnology knowledge‐diffusion networks
Author(s) -
Jiang Shan,
Gao Qiang,
Chen Hsinchun,
Roco Mihail C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.903
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 2330-1643
pISSN - 2330-1635
DOI - 10.1002/asi.23223
Subject(s) - centrality , knowledge sharing , knowledge transfer , trademark , knowledge management , business , investment (military) , knowledge creation , social network analysis , computer science , downstream (manufacturing) , political science , marketing , world wide web , mathematics , combinatorics , politics , social media , law , operating system
Understanding the knowledge‐diffusion networks of patent inventors can help governments and businesses effectively use their investment to stimulate commercial science and technology development. Such inventor networks are usually large and complex. This study proposes a multidimensional network analysis framework that utilizes E xponential R andom G raph M odels ( ERGM s) to simultaneously model knowledge‐sharing and knowledge‐transfer processes, examine their interactions, and evaluate the impacts of network structures and public funding on knowledge‐diffusion networks. Experiments are conducted on a longitudinal data set that covers 2 decades (1991–2010) of nanotechnology‐related US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patents. The results show that knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer are closely interrelated. High degree centrality or boundary inventors play significant roles in the network, and National Science Foundation (NSF) public funding positively affects knowledge sharing despite its small fraction in overall funding and upstream research topics.