Analysing the structure of bioplastic knowledge networks in the automotive industry

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to understand the structure and characteristics of bioplastic knowledge flows between organisations and the technology in the automobile field. However, the existing network analysis method has the limitation in that it can only analyse the structural characteristics and major actors of the knowledge network. In order to overcome these limitations, we apply the bow-tie model. In particular, we select patent citation information from the global automobile companies Hyundai and Toyota, which have set environmental sustainability as a corporate management priority. The results suggest that these automobile companies have a virtuous circle in bioplastic technology. They internalise outside knowledge through the strategic collaboration and then disseminate this knowledge. We also find that there are companies that play an important role in the flow of knowledge. The methodologies used in this paper can gainfully be applied to the analysis of knowledge flow in other fields.