Enhanced co-citation analysis using frameworks

Abstract The valuation of intangible assets, such as patents, has recently been considered an important technique for R&D strategies. This paper proposes a citation analysis as a method of valuation on patent clusters having patent networks. A citation analysis is a method that examines the value of a patent on the basis of the number of citations of references. In particular, a co-citation analysis is used for coupling patents as the patent cluster and valuating the patent cluster. While the co-citation analysis is of great interest as a method of valuation, this analysis has not been fully examined and does not define any framework for a technology transition and patent strategy. Therefore, in this paper, the conventional co-citation analysis for evaluating the patent clusters is enhanced and frameworks for the technology transition and patent strategy are proposed by analysing citation routes in a co-citation analysis.