Knowledge‐based theories have posited that new technologies are recombinations of prior technologies. To bring about new innovations, inventors usually use past known knowledge as a key ingredient. However, there exists a particular type of new technology that does not have any explicit prior technology predecessors. These pioneering technologies, also referred to as “zero‐reference patents,” not only reflect new knowledge but can also serve as the initial seed from which recombination can subsequently create more knowledge and technologies. We seek to understand the characteristics of the inventors who create these pioneering technologies. We find that having focused, specific expertise is more important than a broad knowledge base in the development of these pioneering technologies, and that prior inventive success can hinder their creation.

中文翻译：

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新知识的出现：零参考专利案例

基于知识的理论认为，新技术是先前技术的组合。为了带来新的创新，发明人通常将过去已知的知识用作关键要素。但是，存在一种特定类型的新技术，它没有任何明确的现有技术的前身。这些开创性技术（也称为“零参考专利”）不仅反映了新知识，而且还可以作为重组的基础，随后可以通过重组产生更多的知识和技术。我们试图了解创造这些开创性技术的发明人的特征。我们发现，在这些开创性技术的开发中，具有专长和特定的专业知识比广泛的知识基础更为重要，而且先前的发明成功可能会阻碍其创造。