Analyzing the brokerage roles of stakeholders in a technological network: A study of GMO plant technologies

Knowledge flows help to explain how technologies evolve from certain applications to other new directions. Flows in some technology show how stakeholders utilize the success of new inventions to improve human life, whereas some knowledge diffusion expresses that the dominance of technological development is embedded in a few stakeholders. We take genetic modified organism (GMO) technologies used in plants as the research context and discuss the development of biotechnology sectors in the past few decades. We also explore how industrial actors, governmental units, and universities have influenced the path of technological development. This study collects 4,365 patents, owned by 492 institutions, in USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). We utilize patent citations to build the networks among technologies and among stakeholders. A main path analysis, i.e. the technological network, specifies the core developments in GMO technologies during this research time period. Through brokerage analysis of different stakeholders, some national governments show their importance on being a liaison among different stakeholders. United States industrial actors play a dominating role in the field, while European research agencies play a consultant role to facilitate knowledge flows among different nations.