小世界网络的动态性对企业关键研发者创造力的影响

The influence of past and current small-world characteristics on the creativity of key inventors

以往关于小世界网络特征的研究均是从静态角度,采用从结构到绩效的范式,对于动态变化中的小世界特征作用缺乏了解。而且,对于小世界特征大多考察其对企业组织或区域的作用,对小世界网络与嵌入在其中的个体创造力的关系并未探讨。鉴于此,本文基于国内电子信息和机动车行业的46家高新技术企业1995-2010年的发明型和实用新型专利数据,利用负二项回归模型分析了当前和以往的小世界网络特征对252名关键研发者创造力的影响规律。结果表明:当前合作关系网络中主集团的最短路径长度和网络聚集系数越小,关键研发者的创造力越高;以往合作关系网络中主集团的网络聚集系数越小,关键研发者的创造力越低;以往主集团的最短路径长度对关键研发者创造力的作用则不显著。此外,这些结果存在时间窗口上的敏感性。研究结果为创新管理者更好地了解当前和以往网络特征对企业关键研发者创造力的作用机理,优化企业内部合作关系结构,合理有效配置网络资源提供参考。理论上拓展了小世界网络特征动态性作用的认识。

Dynamic network research is an important trend of management research.Although there are a few literatures involved in the dynamic characteristics of small world network,most of them were based on the perspective of complex networks.Gulati etc.discussed the surge of the small world network,and explored the relationship between innovation information search and the dynamic change process of the small world network,which give a whole interpretation from the structure to performance and from performance to structure about the small world networks.However,Gulati’s research did not explain the difference of the effect between the past small world network and the current small world network.Time is an important factor of the network dynamic role.There are some memories when we observe the dynamic change of networks.These memories in enterprise innovation activities existed in research and development of innovation cooperation network.As the elite of inventors,key inventors are the important intellectual capital of enterprises.How does their creativity affect the enterprise's innovation ability and competitiveness?Since Perry Smith examined network in the research of individual creativity,scholars have conducted a series of researches about the influence of network on key inventors’creativity.However,these studies do not consider the effect of dynamic changes of small world network on key inventors’creativity in the enterprise.Thus,it is useful to understand how enterprise internal cooperation innovation network features affect the creativity of key inventors over time.The information can help explore the value of the network memory,and provide an important implication for innovative managers to realize the strong influence of both current and past network characteristics on the creativity of key inventors,optimize collaborative network structure,and configure the organizational network resources reasonably and effectively.This article is aimed at filling this gap by studying how current and past small world network features affect 252 key inventors’creativity with invention and utility model patent data of 46 domestic major electronic information and the automobile industry in 1995-2010,by using negative binomial regression model.The results showed that the smaller the shortest path length of the main component and the clustering coefficient in current collaborative networks is,the higher the key inventors’creativity is.In contrast,the bigger the shortest path length of the main group and clustering coefficient in the past collaborative networks is,the higher the key inventors’creativity is.Our study contributes to the literature on dynamic network and key inventors research by examining the effect of past and current small-world characteristics on the key Inventors creativity.Firstly,in the microcosmic individual,and in the characteristics of enterprise cooperative innovation network to explore with the embedded in the environment of the relationship between the key research and development of creativity,the connection between the macro and micro characteristics are given.Secondly,from informal and formal overall network as the basic unit of analysis,the research helps expand the research scope of individual creativity influence factors.Thirdly,demonstrated under the background of the whole network,the role of the network structure is also the time stamp.Results show that the structure of the past denseness(the larger aggregation coefficient)and the current structure of the small world(short of the shortest path,smaller aggregation coefficient)of key inventors’creativity are more valuable.Fourthly,the study examines the enterprise’s internal innovation cooperation network formed by developers of small world characteristics of embedded in one of the key research and development of creativity.Findings of this study helps answer different levels of structure and the problem of the relationship between the innovation performance and creative performance.