From communicative to cultural memory: The role of collaboration in the diffusion of scientific innovation

Abstract

By integrating theories of collective memory and innovation diffusion, we construct a citation-based scientific innovation collective memory network and define four types of authors: Original authors, Adopters, Collaborators, and Converters. Additionally, we introduce two new quantitative metrics—the Adopter Conversion Rate (CRA) and Author Conversion Rate (CRC)—to assess the role of collaboration in the diffusion of scientific innovations. Using datasets from APS, Medline, and DBLP, we selected the top 100 most-cited papers published over 20 years ago as our research samples. Through a comprehensive analysis of citation patterns, scientific collaboration networks, and conversion rates, we uncover the pathways and mechanisms of knowledge diffusion in the scientific community. Our findings reveal that scientific research collaboration not only accelerates the diffusion of scientific innovations from their inception but also, as trust-based relationships develop and strengthen, facilitates efficient knowledge sharing and the growth of innovative activities. Furthermore, collaboration facilitates the transition from communicative memory to cultural memory, ensuring the long-term preservation and transmission of scientific knowledge.