Unpublished,
Self-Organizing Innovation Networks: When do Small Worlds Emerge?
(2003)working paper.
Abstract
In this paper, we present a model of `collective innovation' built uponthe network formation formalism. In our model, agents localized on a circle benefit from knowledge flows from other agents with whom they are directly or indirectly connected. They support costs for direct connection which are linearly increasing with geographic distance. The dynamic process of network formation exhibits preferrential meeting for close agents (in the relation network and in the geograpic metrics). We show how the set of stochastically stable networks selected in the long run is affected by the degree of knowledge fransferability. We find critical values of this parameter for which stable ``small world'' networks are dynamically selected.
