Optimal design of information flow in innovation networks

Abstract

Governments and regional organisations spend significant amounts of money in order to stimulate sustainable knowledge spillover and diffusion via innovation networks. Using metrics borrowed from graph theory and a newly defined metric, this paper sets up the taxonomy and provides a quantitative analysis of innovation networks in their broadest sense, topology-wise, as well as their efficiency from information flow perspective. I argue that decision makers should apply holistic approach to innovation and decide upon a balanced mix of different types of networks in order to maximise the innovation efficiency/intensity versus costs.