Structural holes and new dimensions of distance: the spatial configuration of the scientific knowledge network of China’s optical technology sector

This paper analyses the spatial configurations of knowledge networks and their overlap with spatial concentrations, such as urban agglomerations. It proposes a typology of spatial concentrations in knowledge networks, and uses data from academic coauthorships in the field of optical technology and complex network analysis to show how China’s regions and research organisations are located in national and international knowledge exchanges. This spatial representation and analysis of a large-scale knowledge network provide an enhanced view of the quality of network structures. Access to different pools of knowledge is unevenly distributed, allowing some regions to combine knowledge and create learning opportunities that do not stem from a spatial concentration of activity in science, but rather from their positions in the network.