The unbalanced dynamics in Sino-South Korea scientific and technological collaboration: a triple helix perspective with insights from paper and patent network analysis

What is it about?

This study attempts to explore Sino-South Korea collaborations in science and technology, focusing on the networks of university–industry–government (UIG) relations embedded in co-authored papers and co-assigned patents at the institutional and global levels. Patents and scientific publications are examined over the period 2004–2014 to capture recent trends and patterns of collaborative innovation activities among UIG actors in China and South Korea. The analysis has been carried out from a triple helix perspective, investigating the structure and dynamics of the Sino-Korea scientific and technological collaborations. The result reveals an imbalance between science and technology in knowledge dynamics and the different extent and intensity of collaborative efforts of the two countries. Based on comparative analysis of co-authorship and co-inventorship networks, the scale and density of scientific collaboration networks appear much higher than those of the technological counterpart. In fact, the technological collaboration between China and Korea is not common in patents and its network needs to be further strengthened. Implications for both China and Korea of future collaborative relationships are discussed.

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