The trade-offs of brokerage in inter-city innovation networks
利用拉丁美洲城际专利网络数据，研究发现中介城市虽能促进系统知识流动，但自身专利产出反而受损，尤其是连接拉美与全球的中介角色。
Brokers play a critical role in the evolution of innovation systems by accessing and diffusing external knowledge. However, while brokers’ activity allows benefits for the entire system, it entails costs for those who play the broker role. Using patent data to analyse inter-city networks in Latin America, we identify broker cities and estimate the effects of brokerage on patenting outcomes between 2006 and 2017. Our findings reveal that cities holding a central position in the network show higher patenting activity; however, being a broker, particularly connecting Latin American cities with the rest of the world, negatively influences patenting outcomes.