Communities of management knowledge diffusion

A Communities of Practice approach is used to unravel the actions and activities that facilitate the diffusion of management knowledge among organizations. In so doing, the local embedded nature of knowledge is recognized, as is the manner in which interactions between the general and the specific provide a creative dynamic that facilitates the widespread diffusion and a multiple creation of knowledge. Knowledge interactions are explored in terms of boundary processes involving interactions between management gurus, management consultants, business schools/management academics, managers and business media. Moreover, by making a clear distinction between implicit management knowledge and management ideas and techniques, important differences between the communities engaged in the diffusion of management knowledge are revealed.     

科研创新网络中知识扩散演化机制研究

从社会资本视角来看,创新网络中知识扩散的实质是一种社会交换,网络中的知识扩散受社会关系网络中个体位势的影响。研究从微观视角切入,探讨科研网络中的知识主体对其知识扩散的动态影响机制。选取度中心度、Bonacich Power中心度、效率结构洞、中介中心度四种SNA算法,从知识的多样性、传递路径的非确定性和平行复制三个属性对比各SNA算法所暗含的知识扩散特征,对科研网络中知识扩散机制提出假设,选取国内知识管理领域发表于1998-2011年的CSSCI数据,利用Cox比例风险模型构建生存分析模型,研究各SNA算法对该领域知识扩散演化机制的解释程度。研究发现占据"结构洞"位置和度数中心度高的权威个体在知识管理领域知识扩散中发挥最为重要的作用;该领域主要通过团队成员间的平行复制和不同团队间的知识多样化融合来实现知识的扩散与创新。     

How to facilitate knowledge diffusion in complex networks: The roles of network structure,knowledge role distribution and selection rule

The diffusion of knowledge within organizations provides opportunities for interpersonal co-operation, improves creative ability and therefore leads to competitive advantage. Focus of prior literature on knowledge diffusion has been on identifying factors that influence individuals' behavioral intentions to seek and share knowledge. However, knowledge diffusion as an enigmatic, emergent and organizational-level process is more than the simple aggregation of individual attributes and needs to be further investigated. Accordingly, this study focuses on three distinct system-level factors, i.e., architectures of connections among individuals, distributions of knowledge roles and designs of selection mechanisms and analyses their effects on knowledge diffusion. To be more specific, we examine three distinct knowledge roles: seekers, contributors and brokers. We also distinguish between three types of selection mechanisms: objective selection mechanisms, feedback-based selection mechanisms and random selection mechanisms. By conducting agent-based simulations on four representative networks, i.e., regular networks, random networks, small-world networks and scale-free networks, our results show that the optimal knowledge diffusion performance can be achieved on scale-free networks where all agents implement objective mechanisms and show characteristics of brokers. Moreover, our results (a) highlight the significance of brokers, (b) illustrate the superiority of objective selection rules and (c) demonstrate that scale-free networks provide an optimal framework for knowledge diffusion. Furthermore, we also find the interdependent relevance of these three factors to knowledge diffusion and propose a qualitative explanation of these findings.     

网络环境下知识扩散的多智能体模型研究

知识扩散受到知识接收者学习能力、知识传播者声誉、人们之间的沟通状况等多方面因素影响。本文根据知识扩散的相关假说,将影响知识扩散的因素抽象为多智能体模型中的可控变量,利用多智能体模型模拟网络环境下的知识扩散过程,分析多智能体分布密度、单个智能体知识扩散范围、相同分布密度下多智能体的不同分布状况对知识扩散的范围、速度等的影响情况。     

Measuring knowledge spillovers: What patents, licenses and publications reveal about innovation diffusion

Measurement of knowledge spillovers remains an important challenge. While patent citation analyses are one common empirical approach, questions persist about their efficacy and potential biases. In an effort to assess various measures of knowledge diffusion, this paper compares patent data surrounding recombinant DNA technology to licenses and publications building on the same technology. Evaluation of these measures highlights errors of both omission and over-representation in each measure, and reveals potential biases tied to organizational age and location. The results suggest that studies of knowledge diffusion can be strengthened dramatically by drawing upon multiple indicators.     

专利知识吸收和扩散演化规律及影响研究

    分析中国医药领域专利知识吸收和扩散演化规律及知识吸收对知识扩散影响,有助于快速选择并吸收相关资源,为加大基础研究投入强度提供数据支撑,为科技资源整合策略提供支持。本文以2000—2014年美国专利商标局收录的中国医药领域2326件专利及其引用的43 822篇专利文献、35 573篇论文文献为研究对象,从专利知识吸收及知识扩散两个角度出发,采用多元方差分析、零膨胀负二项回归及多元线性回归进行多维度分析。结果表明：专利知识吸收逐年增加,但知识扩散并未形成稳定趋势;不同时间段内知识吸收及扩散各测度指标显著不同;专利文献知识吸收数量、质量及论文文献知识吸收质量均对专利知识扩散产生负向影响;吸收论文知识构件对专利知识扩散产生正向影响;吸收论文数量与知识扩散广度、强度负相关;吸收专利知识构件与知识扩散广度正相关,但与知识扩散强度与速度均无相关关系;专利及论文文献知识吸收新颖性对知识扩散广度、强度及速度均无影响。     

The role of DNA diffusion in solid phase polymerase chain reaction with gel-immobilized primers in planar and capillary microarray format

The solid phase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on a gel-based microarray system was studied under various durations of individual stages of the PCR cycle and spatial restriction of the reaction volume. Combining the experimental study with numerical modeling, we demonstrated that the diffusion of the PCR product in and out of a microarray element during the annealing and melting stages, respectively, is the main factor responsible for distinctive features of the studied type of PCR. The restriction of reaction volume leads to faster PCR signal growth. Particularly, the capillary array, whereby gel-based microarray elements are located on a glass bar inserted into capillary chamber, was found to be a suitable format for the development of the platform.     

知识扩散场的建立与实证分析

本文引入了物理学中势能、势差、能量转换的概念,建立知识扩散场。提出了一种用于描述吸收体在知识扩散过程中知识发展状态的经济模型,用它阐明知识扩散的条件、过程,及在扩散的不同阶段各个影响因素的作用机理。最后进行了实证检验。     

企业内部知识传播模型研究

本文分析了徐渝教授提出的知识传播模型,实际上是说明知识的传播遵循一种Logistic增长的规律,而这种规律仅适用于知识在企业中自然增长的状况,而考虑到企业对知识传播的努力因素时,该模型就明显不能解释其增长规律。论文就是从这个角度出发,分析了企业努力进行知识传播时的机理,并据此对知识传播模型进行了修正,修正后的模型考虑到企业的努力因素时,企业的知识传播遵循指数增长的规律,而当企业放弃努力时,知识传播则遵循Logistic增长的规律,因而存在一个传播的临界点,临界点的位置是随着知识的性质和作用等的不同而有所不同。     

Patents and knowledge diffusion: The impact of machine translation

One of the main rationales for the existence of the patent system is to encourage knowledge diffusion through the full disclosure of the technical knowledge embodied in a patented invention. Yet, economists and legal scholars cast doubts on the validity of the disclosure theory. The empirical evidence on the actual benefits of the disclosure function remains limited. The present paper aims to expand our understanding of how information spreads via patent disclosure and exploits recent improvements in machine translation (MT) to identify the effect of broader access to patented knowledge. More specifically, the paper uses a unique natural experiment. In September 2013, Google launched a major upgrade to its Google Patents service and added patent applications from the China National Intellectual Property Agency (CNIPA) to its searchable patent database. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we show that the translation of the Chinese patents into English resulted in an increase in citations received from patents filed by US inventors compared to a suitable control group comprising patents that Google translated only in 2016. Our results suggest that improved access to patented knowledge fosters knowledge diffusion.     

知识扩散路径、吸收能力与区域中小企业创新——基于浙江省3个传统制造业集群的实证分析

摘要：龙头企业的知识扩散对区域创新的带动效果及其作用路径是产业集群研究的重要议题,同时也是实践界关注的重要领域。已有研究认为,龙头企业知识扩散的创新带动效果受到扩散路径与中小企业吸收能力的影响,其中扩散路径通常被划分为基于非正式交流和基于协作关系两种。根据浙江省3个产业集群内的156家中小企业的调查数据,本文的实证研究发现,龙头企业知识扩散对本地中小企业的创新带动作用存在一个重要的条件,即知识扩散路径与中小企业吸收能力应当形成匹配。企业吸收能力弱时,龙头企业知识通过非正式交流进行扩散能够实现有效的创新带动。企业吸收能力强时,龙头企业知识通过协作关系进行扩散能够实现有效的创新带动。     

Knowledge spillovers and intangible complementarities: Empirical case of European countries

Most studies on knowledge diffusion and productivity focus on either R&D, foreign direct investment or patent citation flows, and rarely consider complementary, intangible investments such as business process redesign, the co-invention of new products and business models, and investments in human capital. Although the effects of complementary investments and their spillovers are often mentioned in the literature, there is a lack of in-depth research. This study aims to fill this gap, taking into account knowledge diffusion and complementarities between different intangible assets, and evaluating their effects on productivity. We propose new measures of knowledge, which consider these complementarities, by using principal component analysis (PCA) to aggregate intangibles, and the Niche overlap index to ease interpretation. The analysis is conducted on an unbalanced country-industry panel dataset of 13 European countries, constructed from a combination of sources such as INTAN-Invest, WIOD, World Bank and EU-KLEMS. We develop total factor productivity proxies, and estimate the effects of knowledge diffusion on productivity by means of GMM panel regressions. Results confirm the importance of considering complementarities for detecting knowledge spillover effects, especially in the case of domestic spillovers, while foreign spillovers are shown to be less effective, supporting the view of knowledge spillovers as a prevalently localised phenomenon.     

Evidence on how academics manage their portfolio of knowledge transfer activities

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether six broad categories of knowledge transfer activities undertaken by academics: the creation and diffusion of knowledge through publications, transmission of knowledge through teaching, informal knowledge transfer, patenting, spin-off formation and consulting activities, are complementary, substitute, or independent, as well as the conditions under which complementarities, substitution and independence among these activities are likely to emerge. This investigation relied on data regarding 1554 researchers funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Contrary to prior studies which have examined complementarities and the determinants of knowledge transfer activities in separate models, this study relied on a multivariate path model to reflect the fact that in practice, academics consider simultaneously whether or not to undertake multiple knowledge transfer activities. Overall, the results point to the existence of three very different types of knowledge transfer portfolios of activities: a first portfolio made up of complementary activities which are interdependent and reinforce each other. This portfolio includes publications, patenting, spin-off creation, consulting and informal knowledge transfer. A second portfolio includes teaching activities and publication outputs which are substitute for each other. A third portfolio comprises teaching activities and other activities independent from teaching, namely, patenting, spin-off creation, consulting and informal knowledge transfer. Each of these three portfolios of knowledge transfer activities emerged under different conditions. Implications are derived for managerial practice and future research.     

Bridging distant technological domains: A longitudinal study of the determinants of breadth of innovation diffusion

The diffusion of innovations is identified as an important aspect of technological and social change. Innovations diffuse through segmented networks of knowledge that limit the flow of knowledge from any one technological domain to any other. Despite this segmentation, some organizations are capable of developing pieces of knowledge that overcome these limitations. Within this context, we develop four hypotheses regarding specific R&D strategies that affect a firm’s ability to develop inventions that diffuse beyond the firm’s technological boundaries. Specifically, we examine how a firm's scientific intensity, technological collaborations, technological diversity, and internal focus impact breadth of innovation diffusion. We use two of the main determinants of innovation diffusion, namely, the relative advantage and the observability, as theoretical mechanisms to build our arguments. We empirically test our hypotheses on longitudinal data from the industries of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and chemicals. Our findings show that the extent to which the knowledge embedded in a firm’s inventions diffuses in distant technological areas is positively related to the firm’s scientific intensity and to its extent of collaboration, but it is negatively related to its technological diversity.     

地方高校教师知识扩散模型及其实证研究

摘要：知识作为高校的核心资源,已经成为高校可持续发展的核心要素。本文以地方高校教师为研究对象,研究了他们的知识特点,提出知识扩散的“内部整合”和“外部扩散”两个过程,据此构建了地方高校教师知识扩散的模型,对于该模型中影响知识扩散的因素进行问卷调查,并对问卷中的因素取值做了因子分析,提炼出影响因素的7个综合指标（共同因子）：知识主体、学校办学条件、教师能力素质、知识接收者因素、知识的价值、社会因素、知识传播途径。文章还使用路径图对数据进行分析,结果表明：知识的价值对于地方高校教师知识扩散与增值影响不显著,其他6个指标（因子）均存在显著的正相关。依据这些结论,我们提出了地方高校建设的策略性建议,为学校的管理决策及其教师个人的知识获取和共享提供现实的理论依据。     

高新技术企业知识转化扩散效率研究

高新技术企业的发展对一国经济社会发展有重要意义。知识经济的到来客观上要求高新技术企业必须对企业知识转化扩散进行有效的管理。本文在分析影响高新技术企业知识转化扩散效率的诸多因素基础上,提出了增强高新技术企业知识转化扩散能力的策略。     

ISO9000标准的扩散过程研究

利用维普数据库资料和实证调查数据,研究了质量管理标准ISO9000在我国的扩散问题。文章发现,ISO9000在我国的扩散经历了4个阶段,目前处于一种稳步发展阶段。文章发现在过去的16年中,我国企业的技术创新能力持续增长,国家加入WTO的行动加速了这种能力的提高。文章还发现,中国农业部门技术创新能力低,其主要原因是缺乏贸易推动。     

核心企业知识扩散范围及其分歧问题的重新研究

 从多核产业集群的视角出发,运用演化博弈方法,重新考察了产业集群中核心企业知识扩散的范围及其分歧问题。研究得出,在多核产业集群中,只要满足知识扩散的条件,知识扩散就必然会发生。但由于配套企业发生机会主义行为的可能性及其知识吸收转换能力的差异性,核心企业仅会对其认可的、且与其具有协作关系的较小范围内的部分配套企业扩散知识。配套企业发生机会主义行为的可能性越大,知识吸收转换能力越差,核心企业知识扩散的范围就会越小。此外,鉴于配套企业机会主义行为的存在性,核心企业对配套企业扩散的知识,不仅是有限制的,更是有选择的。     

从科学到技术的知识传播机理研究：基于知识基因

基础研究是技术创新的重要源泉。从基础研究到技术创新的知识转化规律具有重要的理论与实践价值。鉴于以往研究中专利引文方法的局限性,本研究基于知识基因这种特殊知识单元,从知识内容流动的视角,定量研究从科学到技术的知识传播机理。以人工智能技术为研究案例,识别技术领域的知识基因和专利引用的5个关键基础学科,研究各学科与技术领域的知识关系。通过构建知识基因的传播级联网络模型,对知识基因从科学到技术的跨领域传播模式进行分析。研究发现,相比于专利科学引文,知识基因流动能够揭示从各学科到技术领域的更加真实的知识传播关系;知识基因的短期影响力水平与来源学科有关;知识基因从科学到技术的跨领域传播受到马太效应影响;受异质性知识组合效应的影响,跨领域知识基因在传播网络规模、寿命、影响力及创新“催化”能力方面优于技术领域一般知识基因,后者的产生速度和传播速度则更快。研究结论为进一步深入探究从基础研究到技术创新的知识转化规律提供了微观层面的理论基础,同时,对新兴技术领域的创新预测、基础学科布局以及科技政策的制定具有一定参考价值。     

The impact of cognitive communities on the diffusion of academic knowledge: Evidence from the networks of inventors of a French university

Looking at micro-data on the networks of inventors of a French science university, we investigate whether the kind of cognitive relationships between researchers influences the geography of their collaborations.The hypothesis we test (and confirm empirically) is that academic knowledge diffuses in a restricted geographic area when the connected researchers belong to epistemic communities, whereas communities of practice entail less localised effects. We also show that institutionally mixed research teams do not impede large knowledge diffusion.