Abstract
This study looks at how the R&D alliance network of the Japanese domestic life science sector is gradually changing through influences filtering into it from the global network. Our goal is to study the micro-dynamics of network change focusing on the interaction of two sparsely connected networks. We empirically traced this filtering effect by relying on two separate network datasets. One is a dataset of about 900 Japanese organizations located in the domestic Kansai network while the other is a network of more than 2000 firms based on the US centered international Bioscan dataset. We identified a sample of 60 firms that feature in both datasets and by utilizing a Heckman selection model we found that partnering with highly central foreign firms translates to more diversity in the ego networks of domestic partners at a later time. We propose that partnering with central US firms imbue Japanese firms with a pro-diversity logic that is then further transferred to domestic partners. Their ego networks become increasingly diverse with time. This micro-dynamic change brings about a transformation and an opening up within the domestic network.
