IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v43y2014i1p107-114.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Scientific knowledge dynamics and relatedness in biotech cities

Author

Listed:
  • Boschma, Ron
  • Heimeriks, Gaston
  • Balland, Pierre-Alexandre

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of scientific relatedness on knowledge dynamics in biotech at the city level during the period 1989–2008. We assess the extent to which the emergence of new research topics and the disappearance of existing topics in cities are dependent on their degree of scientific relatedness with existing topics in those cities. We make use of the rise and fall of title words in scientific publications in biotech to identify major cognitive developments within the field. We determined the degree of relatedness between 1028 scientific topics in biotech by means of co-occurrence of pairs of topics in journal articles. We combined this relatedness indicator between topics in biotech with the scientific portfolio of cities (i.e. the topics on which they published previously) to determine how cognitively close a potentially new topic (or an existing topic) is to the scientific portfolio of a city. We analyzed knowledge dynamics at the city level by looking at the entry and exit of topics in the scientific portfolio of 276 cities in the world. We found strong and robust evidence that new scientific topics in biotech tend to emerge systematically in cities where scientifically related topics already exist, while existing scientific topics had a higher probability to disappear from a city when these were weakly related to the scientific portfolio of the city.

Suggested Citation

  • Boschma, Ron & Heimeriks, Gaston & Balland, Pierre-Alexandre, 2014. "Scientific knowledge dynamics and relatedness in biotech cities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 107-114.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:43:y:2014:i:1:p:107-114
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2013.07.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004873331300125X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2013.07.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. C. Antonelli, 2007. "Localized Technological Change," Chapters, in: Horst Hanusch & Andreas Pyka (ed.), Elgar Companion to Neo-Schumpeterian Economics, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Blaise Cronin & Herbert W. Snyder & Howard Rosenbaum & Anna Martinson & Ewa Callahan, 1998. "Invoked on the Web," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 49(14), pages 1319-1328.
    3. Peter van den Besselaar & Gaston Heimeriks, 2006. "Mapping research topics using word-reference co-occurrences: A method and an exploratory case study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 68(3), pages 377-393, September.
    4. Ricardo Hausmann & Bailey Klinger, 2007. "The Structure of the Product Space and the Evolution of Comparative Advantage," CID Working Papers 146, Center for International Development at Harvard University.
    5. Jarno Hoekman & Koen Frenken & Frank Oort, 2009. "The geography of collaborative knowledge production in Europe," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 43(3), pages 721-738, September.
    6. Martin, Roman & Moodysson , Jerker, 2011. "Comparing knowledge bases: on the organisation and geography of knowledge flows in the regional innovation system of Scania, southern Sweden," Papers in Innovation Studies 2011/2, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    7. Loet Leydesdorff & Olle Persson, 2010. "Mapping the geography of science: Distribution patterns and networks of relations among cities and institutes," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(8), pages 1622-1634, August.
    8. Hoekman, Jarno & Frenken, Koen & Tijssen, Robert J.W., 2010. "Research collaboration at a distance: Changing spatial patterns of scientific collaboration within Europe," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 662-673, June.
    9. Jackie Krafft & Francesco Quatraro & Pier Paolo Saviotti, 2011. "The knowledge-base evolution in biotechnology: a social network analysis," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(5), pages 445-475.
    10. Loet Leydesdorff, 2008. "On the normalization and visualization of author co‐citation data: Salton's Cosine versus the Jaccard index," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 59(1), pages 77-85, January.
    11. M. S. Gertler & Y. M. Levitte, 2005. "Local Nodes in Global Networks: The Geography of Knowledge Flows in Biotechnology Innovation," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 487-507.
    12. Asheim, Bjorn T. & Coenen, Lars, 2005. "Knowledge bases and regional innovation systems: Comparing Nordic clusters," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1173-1190, October.
    13. van Eck, N.J.P. & Waltman, L., 2009. "How to Normalize Co-Occurrence Data? An Analysis of Some Well-Known Similarity Measures," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2009-001-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    14. Ron Boschma & Asier Minondo & Mikel Navarro, 2013. "The Emergence of New Industries at the Regional Level in S pain: A Proximity Approach Based on Product Relatedness," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 89(1), pages 29-51, January.
    15. Gaston Heimeriks & Ron Boschma, 2014. "The path- and place-dependent nature of scientific knowledge production in biotech 1986–2008," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 339-364.
    16. Meric S. Gertler, 2003. "Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or The undefinable tacitness of being (there)," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 75-99, January.
    17. Dosi, Giovanni, 1993. "Technological paradigms and technological trajectories : A suggested interpretation of the determinants and directions of technical change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 102-103, April.
    18. Frank Neffke & Martin Henning & Ron Boschma, 2011. "How Do Regions Diversify over Time? Industry Relatedness and the Development of New Growth Paths in Regions," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 87(3), pages 237-265, July.
    19. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    20. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2003. "Cluster-Sample Methods in Applied Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 133-138, May.
    21. Simone Strambach & Benjamin Klement, 2011. "Cumulative and Combinatorial Micro-dynamics of Knowledge: The Role of Space and Place in Knowledge Integration," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(11), pages 1843-1866, November.
    22. Michaela Trippl, 2009. "Islands of Innovation and Internationally Networked Labor Markets: Magnetic Centers for Star Scientists?," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2009_06, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    23. Asheim, Bjorn T & Isaksen, Arne, 2002. "Regional Innovation Systems: The Integration of Local 'Sticky' and Global 'Ubiquitous' Knowledge," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 77-86, January.
    24. Michelle Gittelman, 2007. "Does Geography Matter for Science-Based Firms? Epistemic Communities and the Geography of Research and Patenting in Biotechnology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 18(4), pages 724-741, August.
    25. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    26. Lynne G. Zucker & Michael R. Darby, 2009. "Star Scientists, Innovation and Regional and National Immigration," Chapters, in: David B. Audretsch & Robert E. Litan & Robert Strom (ed.), Entrepreneurship and Openness, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    27. Heiner, Ronald A, 1983. "The Origin of Predictable Behavior," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(4), pages 560-595, September.
    28. Phil Cooke, 2006. "Global Bioregions: Knowledge Domains, Capabilities and Innovation System Networks," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 437-458.
    29. Rikard H. Eriksson, 2011. "Localized Spillovers and Knowledge Flows: How Does Proximity Influence the Performance of Plants?," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 87(2), pages 127-152, April.
    30. Frenken, Koen & Hardeman, Sjoerd & Hoekman, Jarno, 2009. "Spatial scientometrics: Towards a cumulative research program," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 222-232.
    31. Nees Jan van Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2009. "How to normalize cooccurrence data? An analysis of some well‐known similarity measures," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(8), pages 1635-1651, August.
    32. Steven Klepper, 2007. "Disagreements, Spinoffs, and the Evolution of Detroit as the Capital of the U.S. Automobile Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(4), pages 616-631, April.
    33. Lucio-Arias, Diana & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2009. "The dynamics of exchanges and references among scientific texts, and the autopoiesis of discursive knowledge," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 261-271.
    34. Stefano Breschi & Francesco Lissoni, 2009. "Mobility of skilled workers and co-invention networks: an anatomy of localized knowledge flows," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 439-468, July.
    35. Todtling, Franz & Trippl, Michaela, 2005. "One size fits all?: Towards a differentiated regional innovation policy approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1203-1219, October.
    36. Ash Amin & Patrick Cohendet, 2000. "Organisational Learning and Governance Through Embedded Practices," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 4(1), pages 93-116, March.
    37. Roberta Capello, 1999. "Spatial Transfer of Knowledge in High Technology Milieux: Learning Versus Collective Learning Processes," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 353-365.
    38. Ron Boschma, 2004. "Competitiveness of Regions from an Evolutionary Perspective," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(9), pages 1001-1014.
    39. Gaston Heimeriks, 2012. "Interdisciplinarity in biotechnology, genomics and nanotechnology," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 40(1), pages 97-112, September.
    40. Leydesdroff, Loet, 1989. "Words and co-words as indicators of intellectual organization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 209-223, August.
    41. Rikard H. Eriksson, 2011. "Localized Spillovers and Knowledge Flows: How Does Proximity Influence the Performance of Plants?," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 87(2), pages 127-152, April.
    42. Atkinson, Anthony B & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1969. "A New View of Technological Change," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 79(315), pages 573-578, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gaston Heimeriks & Ron Boschma, 2014. "The path- and place-dependent nature of scientific knowledge production in biotech 1986–2008," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 339-364.
    2. Ron Boschma & Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Dieter Franz Kogler, 2015. "Relatedness and technological change in cities: the rise and fall of technological knowledge in US metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2010," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 24(1), pages 223-250.
    3. Ron Boschma & Víctor Martín & Asier Minondo, 2017. "Neighbour regions as the source of new industries," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(2), pages 227-245, June.
    4. Bram Timmermans & Ron Boschma, 2014. "The effect of intra- and inter-regional labour mobility on plant performance in Denmark: the significance of related labour inflows," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 289-311.
    5. Rosina Moreno & Ernest Miguélez, 2012. "A Relational Approach To The Geography Of Innovation: A Typology Of Regions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 492-516, July.
    6. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & David Rigby & Ron Boschma, 2015. "The technological resilience of US cities," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 8(2), pages 167-184.
    7. Ron Boschma, 2017. "Relatedness as driver behind regional diversification: a research agenda," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1702, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2017.
    8. Dieter F. Kogler & Jürgen Essletzbichler & David L. Rigby, 2017. "The evolution of specialization in the EU15 knowledge space," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 345-373.
    9. Franz Tödtling & Markus Grillitsch, 2015. "Does Combinatorial Knowledge Lead to a Better Innovation Performance of Firms?," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(9), pages 1741-1758, September.
    10. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Ron Boschma & Joan Crespo & David L. Rigby, 2017. "Smart Specialization policy in the EU: Relatedness, Knowledge Complexity and Regional Diversification," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1717, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jul 2017.
    11. Martijn van den Berge & Anet Weterings, 2014. "Relatedness in eco-technological development in European regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1413, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jun 2014.
    12. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung - welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert des Wachstum?," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 144, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    13. Duygu Buyukyazici & Leonardo Mazzoni & Massimo Riccaboni & Francesco Serti, 2022. "Workplace Skills as Regional Capabilities: Relatedness, Complexity and Industrial Diversification of Regions," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2210, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jun 2022.
    14. Tom Broekel & Lars Mewes, 2017. "Analyzing the impact of R&D policy on regional diversification," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1726, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2017.
    15. Jefferson Ricardo Bretas Galetti & Milene Simone Tessarin & Paulo Cesar Morceiro, 2021. "Skill relatedness, structural change and heterogeneous regions: evidence from a developing country," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(6), pages 1355-1376, December.
    16. Matias Nehuen Iglesias, 2021. "The Overlooked Insights from Correlation Structures in Economic Geography," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2105, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2021.
    17. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 1: Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung – Welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert das Wach," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58342, February.
    18. Ron Boschma & Ernest Miguelez & Rosina Moreno & Diego B. Ocampo-Corrales, 2021. "Technological breakthroughs in European regions: the role of related and unrelated combinations," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2118, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jun 2021.
    19. Jason Deegan & Tom Broekel & Rune Dahl Fitjar, 2021. "Searching through the Haystack:The Relatedness and Complexity of Priorities in Smart Specialization Strategies," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 97(5), pages 497-520, October.
    20. Jing Xiao & Ron Boschma & Martin Andersson, 2018. "Industrial Diversification in Europe: The Differentiated Role of Relatedness," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 94(5), pages 514-549, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Relatedness; Co-occurrence analysis; Knowledge dynamics; Geography of biotech; Title words;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • L65 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology; Plastics
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:43:y:2014:i:1:p:107-114. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.