Research on the Structural Characteristics and Evolution of Industry-University-Research Cooperation Networks in China: Based on Analysis of Patent Data from 1985 to 2013 Years
YUAN Jianfeng，XU Zhi
South China University of Technology， Guangzhou， China
Abstract Industry-University-Research(IUR) cooperation network has been the important part of national innovation system. Based on big data sample of patents, this study explores the structural characteristics and evolution laws of IUR cooperation networks in China. The results show that the IUR cooperation presented loose network relationship before the year of 2000, after then, the dual structural characteristics of scale-free and clustering were identified, which was evolved from the lower-level point to point relationship toward the advanced complex network evolution. In evolution, it is increasingly weaken for the geographical proximity to cooperative space barrier. It is gradually strengthened for the subjects’ network relationship heterogeneity and agglomeration effect of technology innovation resource, leading to the cooperative path dependent among subjects and imbalance development etc. The study suggests that it is still needed to allocate innovation resources, optimize IUR cooperation network structure with reasonable layout, and activate the subject function of enterprise innovation, to promote IUR collaboration to be the “triple helix” interaction innovation network, and then drive the national innovation system to be innovation ecosystem.
2017, Vol. 14 
