Knowledge Networks as strongChannelsstrong and Conduits The Effects of.pdf

Knowledge Networks as Channels and Conduits: The Effects of Spillovers in the Boston Biotechnology Community* [Word count 9412, inclusive] ***FORTHCOMING, Organization Science *** FINAL VERSION – 12/01/03 Jason Owen-Smith Walter W. Powell jdos@um woodyp@ Department of Sociology 509 Ceras Bld. 1225 S. University Ave. Stanford University Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2590 Stanford, CA 94305-3084 Abstract: We contend that two important, non-relational, features of formal inter- organizational networks -- geographic propinquity and organizational form -- fundamentally alter the flow of information through a network. Within regional economies, contractual linkages among physically proximate organizations represent relatively transparent channels for information transfer as they are embedded in an ecology rich in informal and labor market transmission mechanisms. Similarly, we argue that the spillovers that result from proprietary alliances are a function of the institutional commitments and practices of members of the network. When the dominant nodes in an innovation network are committed to open regimes of information disclosure, the entire structure is characterized by less tightly monitored ties. The relative accessibility of knowledge transferred through contractual linkages to organizations, which are not a party to specific ties, determines whether innovation benefits accrue broadly to membership in a coherent network component or narrowly to centrality. We draw upon novel network visualization methods and conditional fixed effects negative binomial regressions to test