By examining the pattern of collaboration and distinguishing between exploratory and exploitative research we investigate how these systems of knowledge are associated to technological and financial risk in different sectors.

We demonstrate that the study of patent citation and patent collaborator networks can predict the emergence of new technological fields.  At the same time, the innovation rate in a field, (i.e. the improvement in the boundary of the technological frontier) is associated to investment risk.  These risks have to be longitudinally and contingently examined to be able to assess investments in emerging fields such as the ones linked to decarbonization and the green transition.

EXAMPLE: Technological Frontier Networks

Business innovation networks facilitate the creation of new ideas.  More importantly they represent the structure of connections between knowledge and knowledge creators.  These networks define technological domains. One type of outcome that knowledge networks produce, are patent networks. We have demonstrated that a number of network metrics in a technological domain are associated with the rate of technological improvement, (also known as Moore’s law).