An analysis of knowledge flows through research collaboration in Asean and China

Knowledge flow literature indicates Global North (GN) countries have taken a dominant role in knowledge production. Meanwhile, Global South (GS) countries depend greatly on GN countries for knowledge flows and broader unbalanced participation in knowledge creation. This study focuses on GS countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China. It aims to understand the structure of knowledge production, the determinant factors and how they affect innovation. The network structure has been analysed using Social Network Analysis (SNA). Determinant factors of international research collaboration (IRC) are estimated through Negative Binomial and Poisson panel regression. Lagged panel data regression models have been estimated to measure the effect of international knowledge flows on country-level innovation creation. The study has contributed by delivering GS perspectives on knowledge flows literatures. The network structure of international research collaborations experienced little change over 11 years (2006–2016). Although ASEAN countries and China have demonstrated high dependency on knowledge flows from GN countries, this has not brought significant advantages in generating innovation. The determinant factors of IRC demonstrate different patterns than in GN countries, particularly the importance of colonial ties, income economies and scholarly outputs