Central Technology Forecasting Using Social Network Analysis

In this paper, a central technology is defined as a key technology that is connected to most other technologies and that significantly affects them. Accordingly, we can build an R&D policy effectively if we can forecast central technologies. We propose a central technology forecasting model that uses social network analysis (SNA). A social network is a social structure of diverse items as well as of human beings. In this study, we set each technology as a node in an SNA graph and analyze the linkages between them. Thus, we forecast central technologies from SNA results. To verify the performance of our model, we conducted a case study using patent data related to nanotechnology.