Scientific Collaboration and Emergence of Technological Systems: A Case of Nanotechnology

In this study, I argue that scientific collaboration facilitates emergence of technological systems. Technological systems are defined as regional sources of knowledge and competence (i.e. the presence of local scientists, university educational programs, patents filed by regional organizations) that develop and diffuse technical and scientific knowledge in emerging fields of science. Scientific collaboration is defined as co-authorship based on new scientific or technical knowledge. I postulate that two dimensions of scientific collaboration, intensity and heterogeneity, will facilitate establishment of technological systems. These arguments are tested empirically in a new population of technological systems linked by nano-science and nanotechnology between 1959 and 2004. Findings support the arguments, and the role of scientific collaboration in the emergence of technological systems is discussed.