Plenary Session DOES GEOGRAPHY MATTER FOR SCIENCE-BASED FIRMS? EPISTEMIC COMMUNITIES AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF RESEARCH AND PATENTING IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

The spatial clustering of small, innovative firms has been associated with localized knowledge flows, but knowledge flows may extend beyond regional boundaries through the participation of firm employees in broader knowledge-based communities. This paper analyses biotechnology firms as jointly engaged in technological innovation and open scientific research, and proposes that the geography of their research collaborations should reflect the distinctive social logics of these different activities. The analysis focuses on 5143 collaborative research papers published by a large sample of small biotechnology firms. Spatially clustered research teams are more likely to publish papers that are subsequently cited in the firms ’ patents, whereas teams that are globally dispersed produce papers that are more highly cited in the scientific literature, and status in science has opposing effects on paper and patent citations. The results give evidence of different – and in some respects conflicting – logics governing technological innovation and scientific research, highlighting challenges faced by firms who aim to profit from knowledge created in open scientific communities