Title: Study on the measurement of international knowledge flow based on the patent citation network

Authors: Xuanting Ye; Jian Zhang; Yun Liu; Jun Su

Addresses: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China ' School of Government Administration, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, 100081, China ' School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China ' School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

Abstract: A quantitative analysis based on patent citation is an effective method for measuring transnational knowledge flow. The understanding of knowledge flow among countries provides a special perspective for enhancing the realisation of the interaction between different national innovation producers. This paper analyses a transnational patent citation network in the field of electrical and electronic technology during three different time periods from 1984 to 2006, based on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patent statistic database, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). The paper utilises the methods in social network analysis, such as k-core and block modelling, to analyse the patterns and features of international knowledge flow from the following perspectives: the distribution of transnational patent citations, the core-periphery structure of the transnational patent citation network, and the internal knowledge flow among countries of the core group.

Keywords: patent citation networks; transnational patent citations; international knowledge flow; social network analysis; SNA; social networking; flow measurement; patents; electrical and electronic technology; USPTO; intellectual property; innovation; technology management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2015.072971

International Journal of Technology Management, 2015 Vol.69 No.3/4, pp.229 - 245

Received: 02 Nov 2013
Accepted: 12 Jul 2014

Published online: 11 Nov 2015 *

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