The impact of collaboration diversity and joint experience on the reiteration of university co-patents

Numerous studies have demonstrated the central role of universities in the development of innovation ecosystems, however the literature on the manner in which universities might construct and maintain their R&D collaborations is highly limited. The present study addresses this gap, analyzing the propensity of Italian universities to reiterate co-patenting with other organizations which have been co-applicants of their previous patents. Utilizing multi-level modeling, the study confirms the importance of collaboration diversity in the development of further co-patents, even if its effect changes in accordance with the specific dimension under analysis. Besides, the study demonstrates that joint experience in co-patenting has an inverted U-shaped effect on the development of further co-patents by the same co-applicant organizations. These results suggest the usefulness of a dynamic approach in the analysis of R&D collaborations, which could shed light also to the non-linear and varying impact of cognitive distance on innovation, as highlighted by the previous literature. In general, this study favors a better understanding of value creation and value capture processes in university co-patenting, thus allowing the development of useful policy indications.