Abstract:

The aim of the current paper is to analyse international research collaborations in order to capture patterns of international knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing refers to “all knowledge processes that enable two or more organisations to access, transfer, integrate or develop knowledge together” (de Man et al, 2008: 8).

Research collaborations have become the norm in scientific and technological research. These research collaborations often materialise in formal research projects. In this paper we will focus on research projects funded by the European Commission (EC) through the Framework Programmes (FPs).

FPs are essential funding instruments that the EC has used since the 1980s. They enable research institutions, government agencies and industrial partners to cooperate in R&D projects and generate knowledge that spans across national borders. They are seen as pivotal for transforming informal nation-based networks of research collaborations into formal collaboration arrangements between organisations at European level (Heller-Schuh et al., 2011).

In this paper we use Social Network Analysis to capture the composition and structure of these international collaborations, considering them as knowledge networks. Knowledge networks are composed of actors (nodes) and relationships. The actors are the agents that “search for, adopt, transmit, and create knowledge” (Phelps et al., 2012: 117). Relationships constitute a means through which information and knowledge diffuse and flow.

The empirical analysis of this research draws on data from the CORDIS database. We consider only projects that involve at least one Portuguese University.

Four specific features of the knowledge networks are examined:
1. Network composition. Two levels of analysis are considered: country and organisation. The analysis of countries enables to capture the patterns of international knowledge sharing. The analysis of organisations enables to characterise the types of actors active in this knowledge sharing. Since we are dealing with R&D collaborations, universities have a central role. However, we also find other types of organisation, namely firms.
2. Types of relation. We focus on two main types of relations: university-university (U-U) and university-industry (U-I). This captures two different means of knowledge sharing.
3. Network position. We analyse the centrality of actors, both in terms of countries and in terms of organisations. A more central position in the network gives the actor an advantage as it offers more opportunities to access the relevant knowledge sources (Powell et al. 1996).
4. Network dynamics. We assess whether inter-organisational relationships are persistent (that is, if they occur in several different projects). And if so, in which kind of relationships (U-U or U-I) and across which countries is persistence more frequent.

This study contributes to the development of understanding of cross-border knowledge sharing and creation, considering several types of actors and modes (interactions).

Keywords:

R&D projects, international collaboration, knowledge transfer, knowledge networks, Portuguese universities.