National Innovative Capacity in the International Technology Diffusion: The Perspective of Network Contagion Effects

Abstract

Effective promoting national innovative capacity performance tends to be a critical policy for a country. This study examines network contagion effects on international diffusion of embodied and disembodied technology by two different social network models: cohesion models, which are based on diffusion by direct communication, and structural equivalence models, which are based on diffusion by network position similarity. This study then utilizes the data of 42 countries from 1997 to 2002 to empirically examine their relational influences. The analytical results show international technology diffusion influences the performance of national innovative capacity through contagion effects; however, the mimetic behavior is predicted better by network position than by interactions with others. This result provides a broader consideration for science and technology policy.