# Revealing the intricate effect of collaboration on innovation

**Authors:** Hiroyasu Inoue, Yang-Yu Liu  
**arXiv:** [1309.2797](https://arxiv.org/abs/1309.2797)  
**Date:** 2013-09-09  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/1309.2797v1/

## Key points

- Inventor teams outperform solo inventors statistically
- Company teams demonstrate comparable performance to solo companies
- Performance of inventor teams declines with an increase in repeat collaborations
- Company teams exhibit bursty behavior in performance; long-term collaboration does not significantly impact innovation outcomes
- Moderate levels of repeat collaboration have a positive influence on Japanese inventor teams and U.S. company teams
- Excessive repeat collaborations do not yield substantial benefits for innovation at individual or company level in both countries

## Summary

In their study on Japan and U.S. patent records spanning several decades, authors Hiroyasu Inoue and Yang-Yu Liu delve into the intricate effect of collaboration on innovation. Through meticulous analysis, they reveal that inventor teams tend to outperform solo inventors statistically, while company teams demonstrate comparable performance to solo companies. The researchers also observe a trend where the performance of inventor teams declines with an increase in repeat collaborations. However, company teams exhibit bursty behavior in their performance and long-term collaboration does not significantly impact innovation outcomes. To further explore the impact of repeat collaboration, the authors introduce the concept of "repeat collaboration number," defined as the average number of collaborations among all teammate pairs within a team. Their findings show that moderate levels of repeat collaboration have a positive influence on the performance of Japanese inventor teams and U.S. company teams. However, excessive repeat collaborations do not yield substantial benefits for innovation at either the individual or company level in both countries. To ensure robustness in their analysis and account for potential unobserved variables, a detailed regression analysis is conducted by the researchers. The results align with their initial observations and reinforce the complex interplay between collaboration dynamics and innovation outcomes. Ultimately, this study sheds light on how different forms of collaboration can impact innovation processes and highlights potential implications for creative projects beyond patent records in Japan and the U.S.