Drifting towards collaborative innovation: Patent collaboration network of China’s nuclear power industry from multidimensional proximity perspective

Abstract

In recent years, in order to solve the problem of resource shortage and environmental degradation, nuclear power has become the strategic choice of many countries due to its unique advantages. China's nuclear power started in the 1970s. After decades of development and continuous independent innovation, China has grown into one of the superpowers in nuclear field. But how does China's nuclear power develop and innovate? This study aims to provide valuable insights into cooperative innovation in China's nuclear energy industry from the perspective of network. By analyzing the patent data of China's nuclear energy industry from 1986 to 2019, we constructed a patent collaboration network in China's nuclear power field. Then, we analyze the structure of the network by using social network analysis (SNA) method, and explore the characteristics of the network we build from the perspective of multidimensional proximity. The result reveals that the patent collaboration network in China's nuclear energy industry is drifting toward collaborative innovation. Through the network, the innovation subjects in nuclear power field can better achieve resource sharing and promote the overall innovation level of the network. At the same time, we find that organizational proximity and technological similarity contribute to the cooperation between organizations in China's nuclear power field, while geographical proximity has little influence on the collaboration. This study has important implications for understanding collaborative innovation in China's nuclear energy industry and gives in-depth insights into network collaboration patterns, providing valuable references and guidance for the development of relevant policies and strategies.