Analyzing the Impact of Social Contagion and Technological Diffusion Mechanisms on National Innovation Performance

The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the impact of social contagion and technological diffusion mechanisms on the national innovation performance in relation to trade flows and patent citations. The objective is to elucidate how these mechanisms can promote cross-country technology transfer and innovation. While using trade and patent data as numeric measures, we complement it with the qualitative analysis of the selected case studies in order to assess the suitability of the cohesion and structural equivalence mechanisms in the context of technological diffusion. The results support social contagion effects as strongly enhancing national innovation through collaboration, while trade and citations enhance technology transfer. Therefore, this study proves that social contagion’s strength and high patent citations lead to the progress of innovation and improved R&D outcomes in nations. Therefore, this study intends to help enhance knowledge about how to enhance national innovation strategies and how foreign technological knowledge can be utilized to enhance global competitiveness.