Bridges or isolates? Investigating the social networks of academic inventors
通过对比学术发明家与非发明家的社交网络，发现发明家在专利申请前网络更紧密，但两者随时间推移都扩展网络并变得更中心，没有证据表明发明家会孤立或封闭网络。
We analyze the acquaintances of a sample of academic inventors and their paired controls to investigate the contribution of social networks to the generation of inventive ideas in academe. Prior to patenting, inventors work in networks of similar dimension and structure as those of their colleagues who do not invent. The ego-networks of the inventors are however more cohesive (denser), a circumstance that is often seen as associated to the exchange of more fine-grained information and to a greater climate of trust which facilitates long-term relationships and learning. Over time, both inventors and non-inventors extend their networks and become more central. In general, we found no evidence that after patenting inventors isolate or close their networks.