Institutional policy and network evolution in industry university collaborations: Longitudinal analysis of joint patent networks in a japanese biotechnology cluster during 2000's

Abstract

There are growing research interests how institutional policy affects growth of university-industry collaboration for regional economic development of biotechnology clusters. Yet, many of previous research have mainly focused on the best individual practices influenced by policy. However, when we examine effects of policy, we have to pay much more attention to its impacts on dynamics of whole network of university-industry collaboration, using longitudinal social network analysis of it. This paper aims to investigate how new institutional policies develop whole interorganizational networks of university-industry collaborations in a Japanese bioregion during 2000's, and that major research universities located in central positions there, analyzing a regional case of changes of joint patenting networks in, Kansai Biocluster, a major biotechnology cluster in Japan. We retain following main results. First, institutional policy for university-industry collaborations by Japanese Government certainly enhances new R&D linkages between industry and university. Second, indeed, with increase of R & D linkages with large corporations and research institutes, major research universities take more central positions in a cluster. Third, new linkages of major national universities with other organizations are not highly performing in licensing because these universities may be much embedded in networks with large companies and research institutes.