Being a Catalyst of Innovation: The Role of Knowledge Diversity and Network Closure
研究个体如何通过封闭网络获取多样化知识，从而成为促进同事创新的催化剂，基于一家大型跨国高科技公司276名研发人员的实证分析。
Whereas recent research on organizational innovation suggests that there is an ecology of roles supporting the innovation process, the majority of network research has concentrated on the role of inventors. In this paper, we contribute to research on organizational innovation by studying the social structural conditions conducive to individuals supporting, facilitating, and promoting the innovativeness of their colleagues—a role we refer to as catalysts of innovation. We consider an individual’s network position and the type of knowledge available to her through her network as key enabling conditions. We argue that the unique configuration of having access to diverse knowledge through a closed network enables individuals to act as innovation catalysts. Based on a study of 276 researchers in the research and development division of a large multinational high-tech company, we find strong support for our prediction and demonstrate that catalysts make important contributions to the innovative outputs of other researchers in terms of their colleagues’ patent applications.