The Evolution of Knowledge Spillover and Assignee Cluster in Semiconductor Industry

Because of technology-driven and capital intensive characters of the semiconductor industry, it is significant but arduous for most companies to proceed by themselves with technology development and innovation. It is clear that innovation can be regarded as an interactive process, which requires collaborative relationships among different agents of the processes. Thus, the goal of this study is to scrutinize and characterize the dynamic evolution of involuntary knowledge spillover (patent citations among assignees) and voluntary knowledge spillover (assignees as joint owners/ co-assignees) in this industry. By using Unite States patents divided into three periods (six-inch, eight-inch and twelve-inch microchips), the researchers of this study have discovered that the patent growth of this industry has been significant over the period of time from 1997 to 2004. The "Core Actor" included seven assignees with higher knowledge in/out flows in both the eight and twelve inch periods, such as enterprises of AMD, IBM, INTEL, MICRON TECHNOLOGY, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, TSMC TAIWAN, TOSHIBA. Among eleven assignee clusters across eight and twelve inch periods formed by co-assignees with the voluntary knowledge spillover, there were nine clusters, which were all Japan assignees, suggesting a closer relationships existing in the field of this industry in Japan.