Evolution of the International Research Collaboration Network: The Case of the Venice School of Management

Abstract

Due to the increasing interconnectedness of today's globalised world, international collaboration in scientific research has been growing at a remarkable rate for several decades. Many researchers collaborate internationally because it increases the possibility of publishing more influential research. Therefore, it is crucial for institutions to understand international research collaboration among their researchers.

The aim of this study is to analyse and visualise the evolution of the international research collaboration network of researchers at the Venice School of Management (VSM) of Ca' Foscari University at the micro (researcher), meso (institution) and macro (country) levels.

For this purpose, publication data of researchers at the VSM were retrieved from the institutional archive of Ca' Foscari University of Venice (ARCA). This thesis focuses on 234 journal articles, monographs and book chapters that were co-authored internationally from 2017 to 2021. A Social Network Analysis was conducted to analyse these publications in detail.

The findings reveal that the number of researchers as well as institutions in the network increased more than four times while the number of countries has doubled. This study also shows how the network has changed in terms of strength and reveals key collaborators of researchers at the VSM.

The results help to understand the collaboration patterns of researchers at national and especially at international level. This makes it possible to identify potential improvements in terms of the breadth and strength of the network.