Evolution Analysis of Synthetic Biotechnology from the Perspective of Multiple Knowledge Network

Abstract

Science and technology that function as knowledge resources have shown a complex relation in the process of innovation, especially in the synthetic biotechnology industry, an industry bridging biology and engineering where its standardized, decoupled and modularized innovation mode has reconstructed rather than simply spanned the institutions of academic and industrial worlds. Multiple knowledge networks open a new avenue for studying the evolution of synthetic biotechnology. This paper first proposes a framework of integrating scientific and technological knowledge networks, then utilizes WOS’s Cross Search function to construct the cross-reference between DII and SCI and SSCI, finally employs the indicators of network structures and nodes to analyze the multiple knowledge networks in the evolution of synthetic biotechnology. Results show that at the emergence stage (2000-2003), scientific and technological knowledge are difficult to integrate with each other; at the exploration stage (2004-2007), there exist significant intersection and symbiosis between scientific and technological knowledge; and at the growth stage (2008-2014), scientific and technological knowledge give rise to independent logics of growth.