Recent studies have consistently reported that China is becoming a leading nation in scientific output, notably in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Given the existence of Chinese diaspora and reverse migration, the driver of such growth is presumed to be international collaboration. However, little evidence shows collaboration to be the principal determinant. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of international collaboration on the research visibility of China nanotechnology.
Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing a novel nanotechnology publication dataset, both bibliometric and analysis and statistical testing are adopted to explore this issue.
Findings – We found that the bulk of Chinese nanotechnology research is internally-driven. The international collaboration, however, either directly or indirectly, has a positive impact on the quality of Chinese research even controlling for language, discipline, research capacity, and other factors.
Originality/value – This paper develops a new concept and a two-dimension measurement of Chinese knowledge moderator to capture the veiled impact brought by overseas diaspora and overseas returnees.
Author(s): Li Tang and Philip Shapira
Organization(s): Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and University of Manchester
Source: Journal of Technology Management in China, Vol. 7 Iss: 1
Year: 2012
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17010137&show=abstract