Purpose

This study aims to reveal the contribution mechanism of various types of intrafirm networks formed among inventors to firms’ searching for new knowledge. This study also intends to show how this mechanism is influenced by the geographic dispersion of inventors and the external alliance of firms.

Design/methodology/approach

This study develops an analytical framework building on social network theory to explain the collective search among inventors within the firm. The authors validate the hypotheses using the data from 316 publicly traded biotechnology firms in the USA.

Findings

As demonstrated by the findings, intrafirm network clustering facilitates the search for new knowledge. The geographic dispersion of inventors’ location has a negative moderating effect on this relation, whereas the number of alliance partners has a positive moderating effect on this relation. By contrast, the search for new knowledge is hampered by the intrafirm network average path length. The geographic dispersion of inventors positively moderates this relation, whereas a firm’s alliance partner number negatively moderates this relation.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the joint effect of intrafirm networks, inventors’ geographic locations and external alliances on the new knowledge-searching process. This study points out that new knowledge acquired through inventors’ geographic locations and alliance partners is internalized efficiently according to different types of internal networks.

中文翻译：

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公司内部协作网络如何影响公司的新知识搜索？来自美国生物技术行业的纵向证据

目的

本研究旨在揭示发明人之间形成的各类企业内部网络对企业寻找新知识的贡献机制。本研究还旨在展示发明人的地理分散和企业外部联盟如何影响这一机制。

设计/方法论/途径

这项研究开发了一个基于社交网络理论的分析框架，以解释公司内发明人之间的集体搜索。作者使用来自美国 316 家上市生物技术公司的数据验证了这些假设。

发现

研究结果表明，公司内部网络集群有助于寻找新知识。发明人所在地的地理分散性对此关系具有负向调节作用，而联盟伙伴的数量对此关系具有正向调节作用。相比之下，对新知识的搜索受到公司内部网络平均路径长度的阻碍。发明人的地理分布对这种关系有积极的调节作用，而公司的联盟伙伴数量对这种关系有消极的调节作用。

原创性/价值

据作者所知，这项研究首次考察了公司内部网络、发明者地理位置和外部联盟对新知识搜索过程的联合影响。这项研究指出，通过发明者的地理位置和联盟伙伴获得的新知识根据不同类型的内部网络被有效地内化。