International knowledge flows and the administrative barriers to mobility

Abstract

Face-to-face contact, even temporary one, helps researchers form personal ties and transfer tacit knowledge. The ability of researchers to colocate, including attendance at international conferences, workshops and seminars, is affected by the administrative barriers to international mobility. This paper uses a gravity-style empirical framework to examine the link between international knowledge flows and immigration policies. The results suggest that the paper walls erected by such policies reduce not just the mobility of individuals, but also the diffusion of knowledge. A moderately restrictive mobility barrier reduces incoming and outgoing knowledge flows by about 0.8-1.3% per year. The effect of knowledge-exporting country's policy persists for nearly 10 years. There is also a short-term asymmetry: diffusion of recent knowledge is affected more by the immigration policy of a knowledgeexporter rather than a knowledge-importer.

Major Knowledge Diffusion Paths of Megaproject Management: A Citation-Based Analysis

“…As a result, the citation relations have been widely investigated to trace the research progress in different academic fields (Chuang et al, 2017; Ho, Liu, & Chang, 2017; Liang et al, 2016; Lu & Liu, 2014; Xiao et al, 2014). Although some scholars point out that citations between publications may not accurately reflect the process of knowledge diffusion (Alcacer & Gittelman, 2006; Roach & Cohen, 2012), citation is recognized as one of the best measurements available due to the lack of alternative and comparable methods (Nelson, 2009; Orazbayev, 2017; Roach & Cohen, 2012). The four steps in the analysis procedure are further elaborated in the following subsections.…”

“…Table 1 summarizes these perspectives in terms of research content, diffusion channels, and methods adopted. In the context of regions and firms, due to the crucial role that knowledge diffusion plays in economic growth and innovation, more attention has been given to the factors that affect knowledge diffusion, highlighting the externalities or spillovers of knowledge (Orazbayev, 2017; Roper & Hewitt-Dundas, 2015). Some of the studies measured the knowledge diffusion through a variety of indicators, such as the number of patents, scientists’ immigration, and research expenditure (Appleyard & Kalsow, 1999; Hoetker & Agarwal, 2007; Nelson, 2009), and empirically analyzed the relationship between knowledge and the explored factors.…”

“…However, the process of knowledge diffusion has been rarely studied because it is difficult to measure the virtual flows between the stakeholders in the network. In addition, the knowledge could be diffused through various channels, such as supply chains (Roper & Hewitt-Dundas, 2015), scientists’ immigration (Orazbayev, 2017), training programs (Hoetker & Agarwal, 2007; Roper & Hewitt-Dundas, 2015), and so on, making it more difficult to measure the diffusion process of knowledge.…”

Coauthorship in academic journals: Implications for international collaboration and alliances

“…In contrast, in papers where coauthors have a similar knowledge base and skill set to the lead author, knowledge transfer may be more likely. Thus, in testing the knowledge‐based resource theory, we will analyze the barriers in knowledge transfer in a hierarchy of knowledge (Grant & Baden‐Fuller, 2004; Khanna et al, 1988; Orazbayev, 2017).…”

The Structure and Dynamic of Scientific Collaboration Network among Countries along the Belt and Road

“…Using the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) analysis, Gui et al [46] indicated that the number of international students was the most important determinant of international collaboration. To sum up, the determinants of scientific collaboration not only include multi-dimensional proximities (geographical distance, cognitive proximity, social proximity, organizational proximity and institutional proximity), but also comprise common language, former colonial relationships, economic size, innovative capacity, a country's network position, and administrative barriers [44,[56][57][58][59][60].…”