The effect of co-inventors' reputation and network ties on the diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge from academia to industry in South Africa

In this paper, it is found that the co-inventors' and coauthors linkages and h-indexes highly enhanced the flows of academic knowledge into industrial patents in South African firms. The findings are based on an in-depth analysis of 1702 patents and 332 science sources that had linkages with patents filed by South African enterprises at the USPTO and elsewhere between 1976 and 2010. The data on co-inventors and co-authors networks/ties as well as their h-indexes can improve prior art searches and the patent examination process. Such ties can boost knowledge diffusion in large R&D and innovation clusters and hubs, globally.