The impact of patenting on collaboration: Evidence from a Norwegian panel of two waves of the Community Innovation Survey

Abstract

The paper addresses the scope of the patent-system to facilitate coordination of (technological) knowledge production among different actors. The coordination function is rooted in the long discourse of the role of the patent system. However its importance has reemerged as knowledge production processes evolve. The paper starts from the position that ongoing patent reform initiatives need to take into consideration this dimension of the patent system. The paper links the coordinative role of patents to the analysis of networks of innovators in an 'industrial networks' approach. Here, it addresses the need to develop empirical approaches that capture this coordination function. The paper develops an empirical approach against this backdrop using Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data for Norway.