Global city locations and the geographical reach of knowledge networks

Firms often establish knowledge linkages to geographically dispersed locations in order to source diversified knowledge. The involvement into global knowledge networks is particularly useful for actors from emerging countries, which may seek to offset the relative backwardness of their domestic knowledge base by accessing distant and diverse technology. Yet, not all locations offer the same opportunities for knowledge sourcing. This study investigates the relationship between global city locations and the spatial distribution of knowledge networks linked to China. Building on previous literature suggesting that global cities exhibit both properties of local clustering and global bridging, we investigate whether the leverage of global city locations is associated with lower or higher spatial distribution of knowledge networks. Using data on the full sample of USPTO pharmaceutical patents granted between 1975 and 2010 and linked to China, our results show that, consistent with the idea of a prevailing agglomeration mechanism, global city locations are associated with a lower geographical dispersion of inventor networks. However, this relationship is contingent on both the global city profile and the characteristics of the innovative organization that coordinates the knowledge network.