Purpose

This study aims to investigate the influence of inventors’ abilities to acquire external knowledge, provide broad and professional knowledge and patenting output (i.e. different types of inventors) on the formation of structural holes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors collected 59,798 patents applied for and granted in the USA by 33 of the largest firms worldwide in the pharmaceutical industry between 1975 and 2014. A random-effects tobit model was used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The inventors’ ability to acquire external knowledge contributes to the formation of structural holes. While inventors’ ability to provide broad knowledge positively affects the formation of structural holes, their ability to provide professional knowledge works otherwise. In addition, key inventors and industrious inventors are more likely to form structural holes than talents.

Originality/value

The results identify individual factors that affect the formation of structural holes and improve the understanding of structural hole theory. This study is unique in that most scholars have studied the consequences of structural hole formation rather than their antecedents. Studies on the origin of structural holes neglect the effect of inventors’ knowledge abilities and patenting output. By addressing this gap, this study contributes to a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of structural holes. The results can guide managers in managing structural holes in accordance with inventors’ knowledge abilities and patenting outputs, which optimize the allocation of network resources.

中文翻译：

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研发环境中结构洞的形成：发明人知识能力和专利产出的影响

目的

本研究旨在探讨发明人获取外部知识、提供广泛专业知识的能力以及专利产出（即不同类型的发明人）对结构孔形成的影响。

设计/方法论/途径

作者收集了 1975 年至 2014 年间全球制药行业 33 家最大的公司在美国申请和授予的 59,798 项专利。使用随机效应 tobit 模型来检验这些假设。

发现

发明人获取外部知识的能力有助于结构孔的形成。虽然发明者提供广泛知识的能力对结构孔的形成产生积极影响，但他们提供专业知识的能力却相反。此外，关键发明家和勤奋发明家比人才更容易形成结构性漏洞。

原创性/价值

结果确定了影响结构孔形成的各个因素，并提高了对结构孔理论的理解。这项研究的独特之处在于，大多数学者研究的是结构孔洞形成的后果，而不是其前因。对结构孔起源的研究忽略了发明人知识能力和专利产出的影响。通过解决这一差距，这项研究有助于对结构孔有更全面的理论理解。结果可以指导管理者根据发明人的知识能力和专利产出来管理结构漏洞，从而优化网络资源配置。