Open access
Datum
2017-08Typ
- Journal Article
Abstract
Drawing on a large database of publicly announced R&D alliances, we empirically investigate the evolution of R&D networks and the process of alliance formation in several manufacturing sectors over a 24-year period (1986–2009). Our goal is to empirically evaluate the temporal and sectoral robustness of a large set of network indicators, thus providing a more complete description of R&D networks with respect to the existing literature. We find that most network properties are not only invariant across sectors, but also independent of the scale of aggregation at which they are observed, and we highlight the presence of core-periphery architectures in explaining some properties emphasized in previous empirical studies (e.g. asymmetric degree distributions and small worlds). In addition, we show that many properties of R&D networks are characterized by a rise-and-fall dynamics with a peak in the mid-nineties. We find that such dynamics is driven by mechanisms of accumulative advantage, structural homophily, and multiconnectivity. In particular, the change from the “rise” to the “fall” phase is associated to a structural break in the importance of multiconnectivity. Mehr anzeigen
Persistenter Link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000285491Publikationsstatus
publishedExterne Links
Zeitschrift / Serie
Industrial and Corporate ChangeBand
Seiten / Artikelnummer
Verlag
Oxford University PressThema
R&D alliance; Interfirm network; Complex network; Network evolution; Econometric studyOrganisationseinheit
03682 - Schweitzer, Frank / Schweitzer, Frank
Zugehörige Publikationen und Daten
Is new version of: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/77462
Anmerkungen
It was possible to publish this article open access thanks to a Swiss National Licence with the publisher.