The impact of knowledge depth and breadth on the geography of analytical industry technological networks: Evidence from China’s biotechnology industry

Qin Ye

Growth and Change, 2021, vol. 52, issue 4, 2238-2255

Abstract: The debate on the role of knowledge specialization compared to diversification as a driver of regional innovation has been conflicting for a long time. This article contributes to this framework by exploring the effect of knowledge bases of analytical industry represented by China’s biotechnology industry on regional innovation from the perspective of networks. The network connecting the industry’s patented technology to the cities where the inventors are located depicts the geography of innovation in this industry. The more patents that a city generates in the core technology fields, the greater its centrality in the network, and the greater its relative importance to the industry innovation. Knowledge depth and breadth, two distinct dimensions of the knowledge bases on behalf of specialization and diversification, affect a city’s centrality in the technological network. In the analytical industry, both the knowledge depth and breadth of the city have negative curvilinear effects on its centrality in the network. The influence of knowledge depth is greater than that of knowledge breadth, but the synergy between the two is not significant. To promote the innovation performance of analytical industries, peripheral cities are more likely to increase knowledge breadth, while core cities are more likely to increase knowledge depth.

Date: 2021
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