Title: Selection of collaborative partners for ambidextrous technological innovation: an approach based on community detection

Authors: Chunhua Ju; Qianwen Cao

Addresses: Modern Business Research Center, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China; School of Management Engineering and E-Commerce, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China; E-Commerce and New Consumption Research Institute, Zhejiang Financial College, Hangzhou, China ' School of Artificial Intelligence and Electronic Commerce, Zhejiang Gongshang University Hangzhou College of Commerce, Hangzhou, China

Abstract: The selection of an appropriate partner plays a crucial role in overcoming technological barriers via technological innovation. This study aims to propose a methodology for the selection of technological innovation partners, focusing on recommending different potential partners based on ambidextrous technological innovation. This article presents a comprehensive framework for partner selection in collaborative innovation. The construction of collaboration networks relies on the existing collaborative relationships. The Louvain algorithm is employed to partition networks into distinct communities, while the number of times of co-citation is utilised for selecting the appropriate community. The community members are divided into two parts of partners for radical innovation and partners for incremental innovation based on their technical distance from the enterprise requiring partners. The partner selection methods proposed in this study demonstrate remarkable efficacy in expanding the range of partner selection options, improving selection efficiency and enhancing pertinence.

Keywords: collaboration network; community detection; technological innovation; radical innovation; incremental innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2025.145462

International Journal of Technology Management, 2025 Vol.98 No.1, pp.52 - 77

Received: 28 Sep 2023
Accepted: 19 Oct 2024
Published online: 01 Apr 2025 *

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