The structure and evolution of ICT global innovation network

Abstract

We look at the structure and evolution of an information and communication technology (ICT) global innovation network (GIN) by mapping the locations of R&D centres belonging to a group of multinational ICT enterprises. We found that the number of countries and connections have increased in a very short time, and that most of the newcomers have come from Africa, Asia and South America. We show that a country’s network position affects the creation and intensity of R&D linkages with other countries in the network. This suggests that the evolution of the ICT GIN is driven by, among other things, the preferential attachment mechanism, i.e. countries tend to connect to those countries which have more links. A country’s position in the network also moderates the effect of standard determinants of innovation i, such as geographic distance. Hence, network position explains the creation of R&D linkages between such distant countries as the US, China or India.