The Influence of Multi-Layer Network on the Technical Term Diffusion

Researches consistently show that diffusion of technical terms has great influence on innovation. From the perspective of sociolinguistics, this paper constructed a theoretical model which showed the influences of multi-layer network on the diffusion of terminology. An empirical study using data collected from 104 research project teams of 7 pharmaceutical companies was employed to test the soundness and validity of the model. The results showed that both weak and strong ties among sub-groups had significant positive impact on the term diffusion, but weak ties were more effective in the process.