Recombination of Scientific Knowledge and Risk in Recombination

Sotaro Shibayama
University of Tokyo

Abstract:
This seminar concerns the recombination of scientific knowledge, which is a critical route to create novel discoveries. The seminar consists of two parts. The first part discusses the conceptual basis of knowledge recombination as well as the measurement of the concept. Although previous studies abstractly define and measure the concept, recombination can occur in various forms. We discuss such a variation and propose bibliometric measures to capture the variation. The second part concerns the risk in knowledge recombination. Attempts of knowledge recombination often fail. We propose a measure to assess such a risk based on a machine learning model. We then analyse conditions, such as funding and team factors, that nurture scientists’ risk taking.

Sotaro Shibayama is Professor at the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Public Policy and Institute for Future Initiatives. Before the current position, he was affiliated to Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Turin, and Lund University. He earned degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mathematics, and Economics. Also, he used to engage in consulting business in the areas of IT management, R&D strategies, and HRM. Based on his mixed, interdisciplinary experiences, he has been doing research on economics and sociology of science, management of R&D organisations, science technology and innovation (STI) policy as well as higher education. His research has been published in journals in multiple disciplines, including Research Policy, American Sociological Review, Studies in Higher Education, and Journal of Informetrics.

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