Collective knowledge production costs and the dynamics of technological systems

Author: Patrucco, Pier Paolo

Source: Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Volume 18, Number 3, 2009 , pp. 295-310(16)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Technological knowledge can be understood as a collective good only when its production requires the absorption and integration of external knowledge. Such external knowledge is the outcome of R&D investments that cannot be fully appropriated by firms and generate spillovers. The exploitation of such knowledge spillovers requires specific investments in knowledge communication and absorption, which brings about specific costs. These costs are affected by the structural and dynamic characteristics of technological systems in terms of the knowledge base, the variety of actors and the communication infrastructures and processes. This paper analyzes the costs of collective knowledge production and their implications for the way in which the firm chooses the mix of internal and external knowledge. This choice in turn shapes the evolution of technological systems.

Keywords: knowledge diffusion; knowledge externalities; innovation systems; technological change; technological communication

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10438590801969040

Affiliations: 1: Laboratorio di Economia dell'Innovazione 'F. Momigliano', Dipartimento di Economia, 'S. Cognetti de Martiis', Universita di Torino, Torino, Italy,BRICK (Bureau of Research on Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge), Collegio Carlo Alberto, Moncalie

Publication date: 2009-01-01

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