Characterization of the technological cooperation network in innovations based on the use of biopolymers by the civil construction industry through social network analysis

Biopolymers, replacing conventional polymers, have a wide range of applications in the field of civil engineering. The number of published patents related to the use of biopolymers by the civil construction industry is increasing, signaling the importance of intellectual property in these innovations. At the same time, economic globalization has made technological cooperation more relevant than ever, increasing the interest of the scientific community in the application of methods to investigate the collaborative networks involved in the development of technological innovations. Therefore, this study aims to identify the characteristics of the technological collaborative network on innovations in the use of biopolymers by the construction industry. The Social Network Analysis (SNA) method was used to identify and characterize the network based on data available on Espacenet. The study showed that in the technological cooperation network in question, the Kajima Road CO LTD and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology were the most notable organizations regarding patent applications, while the USA stood out as the country with the most connections and resources in the network.