Simone Grabner (Università Cattolica, Milano)

Green Technological Diversification and Co-Inventor Linkages across Countries and Regions

Abstract. To achieve a more environmentally sustainable economy, countries must diversify their innovation efforts towards green technologies. Technological diversification is understood as a path-dependent process constrained by endogenous (local) capabilities. In this context, the increasing global connectivity and the internationalization of innovative activity makes the role of external knowledge linkages more and more relevant. This paper investigates the process of green technological diversification in 49 countries over a 40-year time span, aiming at unveiling the role of external linkages, as proxied by co-inventor collaborations. Results show that international co-inventor linkages among countries with complementary capabilities support green diversification. On the other hand, the existence of linkages per se facilitates a more unrelated kind of diversification. Furthermore, these effects differ substantially between countries that are innovation leaders and followers.

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