Exploring the structure of patents transaction network: A perspective of network analysis

Firms that participate in a patent transactions network are interdependent. The characteristics of a network include the complexity of the overall configuration. This work presents a dynamic approach to studying the structure of a patent transactions network. Network analysis is used to define the structural configuration of a patent transactions network based on its centralization, centrality, and linkage distribution. Data concerning patent transactions in the flat panel display sector from 1976 to 2012 were studied to empirically evaluate their networkship. The results thus obtained reveal that the structural configuration of patent transactions networks exhibits significant stratification of the constituent firms' capability in exporting technology and their brokerage advantages. Such a network is also evaluated as a complex system. This analysis yields insights into patent transactions networks, and also addresses policy implications for firms and authorities that are interested in market competition or market governance.