Abstract: With the in-depth development of open innovation practices, collaboration has become the primary means by which organizations and regions seek new technologies and knowledge, but organizational or regional boundaries often become key factors that constrain innovation synergies. In this case, the gatekeeper usually plays an important role in the absorption and transmission of knowledge. This paper firstly adopts the combination of multidimensional proximity theory and social network analysis method of cooperative innovation network, selects the telecom field as the specific research object, and collects the cooperation between the nine major urban groups by collecting the cooperation patent data of China’s telecommunications field from 1985 to 2017. The cooperative innovation network performs layered processing, constructs the gatekeeper recognition model, and re-characterizes the gatekeeper structure. Secondly, a measurement model is constructed to quantify the contribution of the gatekeeper. Thirdly, through cluster analysis and comparison, the method of analysis explores the relationship between the role of gatekeepers in different regions, the characteristics of internal and external links, and the degree of contribution. Based on the above research, this paper finally provides several regional policy recommendations.
The empirical results show that: (1) There are a certain number of gatekeepers in the nine major urban agglomerations in China, and the gatekeepers have a more balanced distribution ratio in their respective urban agglomerations. By analyzing the quantity and the strength of internal and external connections, it is found that the gatekeepers of different urban groups differ greatly in these two aspects. It can be seen that there is no necessary connection between the status of the gatekeepers in each urban agglomeration and the level of economic development. Therefore, it is still necessary to comprehensively consider the type characteristics of the gatekeepers themselves and make final choices according to the actual conditions of each region; (2) The degree of gatekeepers contribution varies according to the specific conditions of the urban agglomeration, but in terms of role composition, most of the contributors in most urban agglomerations are colleges and universities. In other urban agglomerations other than Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the type of gatekeepers and the mode of contribution are relatively simple. Except for the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration, the others are university-led. Relatively, the types of gatekeepers and contribution models of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration are more diversified. In addition to colleges and universities, some enterprises and scientific research institutions have made great contributions to the urban agglomeration as gatekeepers; (3) the contribution index of two-way active and outward-active gatekeepers in contributing to the cooperation and innovation of urban agglomerations is the highest. However, due to the differences in geographic location and development planning of various urban agglomerations, it will also indirectly affect the contribution of gatekeepers within the group. After exploring the types and contributions of gatekeepers in the three types of urban agglomerations, it is found that gatekeepers with high external contact strength or balanced internal and external contact strengths play a more significant role in the collaborative innovation activities between the subjects within the urban group and the external entities.
The theoretical contributions of this research are as follows: firstly, the geographic proximity and cognitive proximity are embedded into the social network analysis, and the gatekeeper recognition model is constructed. Based on the multidimensional proximity, the cooperative innovation network is rationally layered. Through the combination of multi-layer sub-network interaction and intermediary centrality, this study improved the single judgment method for the gatekeeper, making the gatekeeper’s identification method more comprehensive and scientific; Secondly, according to the difference of the proportion of internal and external connections, the difference of the gatekeeper’s contact characteristics is further explored, and the behavioral characteristics of the three types of gatekeepers: outward-looking, two-way active and inward-active are defined. Combined with the roles of universities, enterprises, scientific research institutions, governments and related institutions, the types of gatekeepers are divided into multiple dimensions and in more detail. Thirdly, this study constructs the gatekeeper contribution measurement model, and describes the gatekeeper type and contribution index between different regions through cluster analysis, and compares the specific reasons why the gatekeeper’s contribution differs due to the development level of the urban agglomeration. Finally, although this paper is based on the research on the data of the gatekeepers of the cooperative innovation network in China’s telecom industry, the methods and ideas adopted in the paper can also be transplanted and copied to gatekeepers or intermediaries of the regional cooperative innovation network in other industries.
The practical significance of this research is that the study of regional gatekeepers can provide practical reference for government management organizations or policy research institutions in different regions and clusters, namely: how to cultivate and develop future types of gatekeepers who are more suitable for the development of regional or cluster innovation networks to improve the contribution of gatekeepers to regional innovation? First of all, the gatekeeper is the hub for establishing cooperative and innovative relationships between regions or clusters. When building a cooperative innovation network, the proportion of gatekeepers can be increased according to actual conditions. Secondly, each region or cluster has its own particularity in the speed and path of development. Therefore, the cultivation of the gatekeepers within the group should also be matched to better promote the flow of knowledge between the subject and the external subject, and thus better promote inter-regional cooperation and innovation activities. Thirdly, in the process of forming the gatekeeper’s main body, the balance of the role composition should be enhanced. China is vigorously advocating the collaborative innovation system of enterprises-university-research institute, and the status of enterprises in innovation is increasing. It is necessary to encourage and promote more enterprises to assume the role of the gatekeeper of the regional innovation network, so that while improving their technical capabilities, they can enhance the overall innovation performance of the region by continuously absorbing and transmitting new knowledge from the outside world.

Key words:  innovation network, gatekeeper, regional comparison, telecommunications field