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The gravity of tacit knowledge flows in the presence of Information Communication Technologies

Söderström, Kristofer Rolf LU (2017) EKHM52 20161
Department of Economic History
Abstract
The role of geographical distance on the flow of knowledge has been debated in empirical work over the past decades. The magnitude of this relationship is usually attributed to the type of knowledge in question; in which tacit knowledge—the focus of the thesis—is usually associated with a negative relationship. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate said role in the context of tacit knowledge flows, and in the presence of the diffusion of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Using data for international patent cooperation as proxy for tacit knowledge flows, a gravity model is implemented for an analysis of 48 countries and period 1993-2012. Although several attempts were implemented with numerous approaches, the presence of a... (More)
The role of geographical distance on the flow of knowledge has been debated in empirical work over the past decades. The magnitude of this relationship is usually attributed to the type of knowledge in question; in which tacit knowledge—the focus of the thesis—is usually associated with a negative relationship. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate said role in the context of tacit knowledge flows, and in the presence of the diffusion of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Using data for international patent cooperation as proxy for tacit knowledge flows, a gravity model is implemented for an analysis of 48 countries and period 1993-2012. Although several attempts were implemented with numerous approaches, the presence of a negative relationship between geographical distance and tacit knowledge flows could not be contested within the context of ICT diffusion. This suggests evidence for the important role of geographical distance in the environment of face-to-face communication. The findings support current theoretical argumentation within the literature. (Less)
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author
Söderström, Kristofer Rolf LU
supervisor
organization
course
EKHM52 20161
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Gravity, tacit knowledge, knowledge flows, ICT, diffusion, PPML, patents, cooperation, distance, attractors, unit root, cointegration
language
English
id
8900542
date added to LUP
2017-01-26 11:55:58
date last changed
2017-01-26 11:55:58
@misc{8900542,
  abstract     = {{The role of geographical distance on the flow of knowledge has been debated in empirical work over the past decades. The magnitude of this relationship is usually attributed to the type of knowledge in question; in which tacit knowledge—the focus of the thesis—is usually associated with a negative relationship. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate said role in the context of tacit knowledge flows, and in the presence of the diffusion of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). Using data for international patent cooperation as proxy for tacit knowledge flows, a gravity model is implemented for an analysis of 48 countries and period 1993-2012. Although several attempts were implemented with numerous approaches, the presence of a negative relationship between geographical distance and tacit knowledge flows could not be contested within the context of ICT diffusion. This suggests evidence for the important role of geographical distance in the environment of face-to-face communication. The findings support current theoretical argumentation within the literature.}},
  author       = {{Söderström, Kristofer Rolf}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The gravity of tacit knowledge flows in the presence of Information Communication Technologies}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}