The impact of cognitive communities on the diffusion of academic knowledge: Evidence from the networks of inventors of a French university

Abstract Looking at micro-data on the networks of inventors of a French science university, we investigate whether the kind of cognitive relationships between researchers influences the geography of their collaborations. The hypothesis we test (and confirm empirically) is that academic knowledge diffuses in a restricted geographic area when the connected researchers belong to epistemic communities, whereas communities of practice entail less localised effects. We also show that institutionally mixed research teams do not impede large knowledge diffusion.