The Community Structure of Business Establishments and its Properties: Evidence from Joint Patent Applications

Abstract

We investigate what properties are associated with knowledge-creating communities. By using unique Japanese patent data and a community-detection method, we separate Japanese business establishments into communities composed of connections through joint patent applications. By comparing actual and random communities, we reveal that communities are similar in the total patents applied for, the total citations, and geographic distance and that they are dissimilar in their knowledge distance. The findings can benefit those who develop collaboration strategies in firms and create government policies to nurture collaborations among business establishments.

Keywords: patent, business establishment, community, network

JEL Classification: O31, O34