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The scientific impact and partner selection in collaborative research at Korean universities

Author

Listed:
  • Jongwuk Ahn

    (Seoul National University)

  • Dong-hyun Oh

    (Inha University)

  • Jeong-Dong Lee

    (Seoul National University)

Abstract

This study seeks to bridge the gap between scientometrics literature on scientific collaboration and science and technology management literature on partner selection by linking scientists’ collaborator preferences to the marginal advantage in citation impact. The 1981–2010 South Korea NCR (National Citation Report), a subset of the Web of Science that includes 297,658 scholarly articles, was used for this research. We found that, during this period, multi-author scientific articles increasingly dominated single-author articles: multi-university collaboration grew significantly; and the numbers of research publications produced by teams working within a single institution or by a single author diminished. This study also demonstrated that multi-university collaboration produces higher-impact articles when it includes “Research Universities,” that is, top-tier university schools. We also found that elite universities experienced impact degradation of their scientific results when they collaborated with lower-tier institutions, whereas their lower-tier partners gained impact benefits from the collaboration. Finally, our research revealed that Korean universities are unlikely to work with other universities in the same tier. This propensity for cross-tier collaboration can be interpreted as strategic partner selection by lower-tier schools seeking marginal advantage in citation impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Jongwuk Ahn & Dong-hyun Oh & Jeong-Dong Lee, 2014. "The scientific impact and partner selection in collaborative research at Korean universities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 100(1), pages 173-188, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:100:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-013-1201-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-013-1201-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. JongWuk Ahn & Hyundo Choi & Dong-hyun Oh, 2019. "Leveraging bridging universities to access international knowledge: Korean universities’ R&D internationalization," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(2), pages 519-537, August.
    2. Alex Stewart, 2022. "Who shuns entrepreneurship journals? Why? And what should we do about it?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 2043-2060, April.
    3. Ali Gazni & Vincent Larivière & Fereshteh Didegah, 2016. "The effect of collaborators on institutions’ scientific impact," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 1209-1230, November.
    4. Tamás Sebestyén & Orsolya Hau-Horváth & Attila Varga, 2017. "How to get from the periphery into the core? The role of geographical location and scientific performance in network position in the field of neuroscience," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 10(3), pages 297-325, October.
    5. Danielle Lee, 2023. "Bibliometric analysis of Asian ‘language and linguistics’ research: A case of 13 countries," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Anna Sworowska-Baranowska, 2021. "Science-Nonscience Research Partnership in Poland," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(Special 3), pages 96-113.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Knowledge production; Scientific collaboration; Multi-university research; Citation impact; Partner selection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • N75 - Economic History - - Economic History: Transport, International and Domestic Trade, Energy, and Other Services - - - Asia including Middle East

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