China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.

Technological convergence is an important organizational innovation capability, essential for improving the core competitiveness of green and sustainable industries. However, studies have mainly focused on measuring technological convergence and have ignored the factors that affect the capabilities...

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Main Authors: Kai Luo, Shutter Zor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271694
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author Kai Luo
Shutter Zor
author_facet Kai Luo
Shutter Zor
author_sort Kai Luo
collection DOAJ
description Technological convergence is an important organizational innovation capability, essential for improving the core competitiveness of green and sustainable industries. However, studies have mainly focused on measuring technological convergence and have ignored the factors that affect the capabilities of such convergence capabilities. Thus, this study attempts to bridge this gap by providing an in-depth analysis of the impact of structural holes in inter-organizational technical cooperation networks. This technological convergence is studied from the perspective of a patent. It also considers the moderating effects of the degree of patent cooperation and the cooperation distance. It employs the social network theory to construct inter-organizational patent cooperation, and technological convergence networks, to facilitate the analysis of the effect of structural holes on such a convergence. It empirically examines 52 non-ferrous metal recycling organizations, with close patent cooperation. Accordingly, the structural hole constraint index by the inter-organizational patent cooperation network, shows a positive U-shaped curve relationship with technology convergence. Moreover, the degree of inter-organizational patent cooperation strengthens the positive U-shaped relationship, and the distance of cooperation weakens the influence of the structural hole constraint index on technology convergence. Therefore, managers and policymakers should encourage more industry-academia-research or patent alliances and designate policies to promote such cooperation.
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spelling doaj.art-652a99f9adb84f66b84a6943c97d21762022-12-22T04:19:07ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01178e027169410.1371/journal.pone.0271694China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.Kai LuoShutter ZorTechnological convergence is an important organizational innovation capability, essential for improving the core competitiveness of green and sustainable industries. However, studies have mainly focused on measuring technological convergence and have ignored the factors that affect the capabilities of such convergence capabilities. Thus, this study attempts to bridge this gap by providing an in-depth analysis of the impact of structural holes in inter-organizational technical cooperation networks. This technological convergence is studied from the perspective of a patent. It also considers the moderating effects of the degree of patent cooperation and the cooperation distance. It employs the social network theory to construct inter-organizational patent cooperation, and technological convergence networks, to facilitate the analysis of the effect of structural holes on such a convergence. It empirically examines 52 non-ferrous metal recycling organizations, with close patent cooperation. Accordingly, the structural hole constraint index by the inter-organizational patent cooperation network, shows a positive U-shaped curve relationship with technology convergence. Moreover, the degree of inter-organizational patent cooperation strengthens the positive U-shaped relationship, and the distance of cooperation weakens the influence of the structural hole constraint index on technology convergence. Therefore, managers and policymakers should encourage more industry-academia-research or patent alliances and designate policies to promote such cooperation.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271694
spellingShingle Kai Luo
Shutter Zor
China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.
PLoS ONE
title China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.
title_full China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.
title_fullStr China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.
title_full_unstemmed China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.
title_short China's non-ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors: A quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration-based network structural hole.
title_sort china s non ferrous metal recycling technology convergence and driving factors a quadratic assignment procedure analysis based on patent collaboration based network structural hole
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271694
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AT shutterzor chinasnonferrousmetalrecyclingtechnologyconvergenceanddrivingfactorsaquadraticassignmentprocedureanalysisbasedonpatentcollaborationbasednetworkstructuralhole