Brokerage Reversal in Interorganizational Collaboration Networks and Organizations’ Technological Innovation Output: The Moderating Role of Intraorganizational Collaboration Networks

This study examines the relationship between brokerage reversal in interorganizational collaboration networks and organizations’ technological innovation output, as well as the moderating roles of cohesion and centralization in intraorganizational collaboration networks. Using artificial intelligence (AI) patent data from the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering the period from 1976 to 2023, we construct annual interorganizational and intraorganizational collaboration networks based on patent co-application among organizations and among inventors affiliated with each focal organization, respectively. The results of negative binomial regression analyses show that brokerage reversal in interorganizational collaboration networks is positively associated with organizations’ technological innovation output, whereas intraorganizational collaboration network cohesion and centralization negatively moderate this relationship. Practically, these findings suggest that monitoring changes in interorganizational collaboration network positions while considering intraorganizational collaboration structures may help organizations understand the conditions under which such network dynamics are associated with technological innovation output.