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Scope, Strategy and Structure: The Dynamics of Knowledge Networks in Medicine

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  • Consoli, Davide
  • Ramlogan, Ronnie

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyse the dynamics of networks in which new knowledge emerges and through which it is exchanged. Our conjecture is that the structure of a network cannot be divorced from the dynamics of the knowledge underpinning its activities. In so doing we look beyond studies based on the assumption of exogenous networks and delve into the mechanisms that stimulate their creation and transformation. In the first part the paper adopts a functional perspective and views networks as constructs aimed at the coordination of knowledge; accordingly, network structure is an emerging property that reflects the employment of an agreed strategy to achieve a collective scope. In the second part these themes are articulated in relation to the dynamics of medical innovation and enriched by an empirical study on the long-term evolution of medical research in Ophthalmology. This exercise highlights the connection between changes in scientific and practical knowledge and the reconfigurations of the epistemic network over a forty-year period. By mapping different network structures we capture variety in the gateways of knowledge creation – that is, the network participants – as well as in the pathways – that is, the inter-organisational collaborations. Our goal is to analyse how these patterns of interaction emerge and transform over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Consoli, Davide & Ramlogan, Ronnie, 2009. "Scope, Strategy and Structure: The Dynamics of Knowledge Networks in Medicine," MPRA Paper 12791, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:12791
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    13. Ronnie Ramlogan & Andrea Mina & Gindo Tampubolon & J. Stanley Metcalfe, 2007. "Networks of knowledge: The distributed nature of medical innovation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 70(2), pages 459-489, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexandre Trigo, 2016. "Innovation in the Era of Experience: The Changing Role of Users in Healthcare Innovation," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 12(2), pages 29-51.
    2. Jeremy Howells, 2010. "Services and Innovation and Service Innovation: New Theoretical Directions," Chapters, in: Faïz Gallouj & Faridah Djellal (ed.), The Handbook of Innovation and Services, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation; Network analysis; Inter-organizational Relationships;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • D85 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Network Formation
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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