Second‐Order Network Churn and Organizations' Technological Innovation Output: The Moderating Role of Structural Positions Within Interorganizational Collaboration Networks

By focusing on interorganizational collaboration networks, this study investigates the relationship between second‐order network churn and organizations' technological innovation output. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset of biotechnology patents from China (1985–2023), we construct yearly interorganizational collaboration networks and derive the corresponding variables for empirical analysis. Empirical results from panel negative binomial regression models support the inverted U‐shaped relationship between second‐order network churn within interorganizational collaboration networks and organizations' technological innovation output. Moreover, structural positions—captured by structural holes and coreness within interorganizational collaboration networks—strengthen this inverted U‐shaped relationship. Specifically, the inverted U‐shaped relationship is more pronounced when the focal organization is embedded in structural positions with more structural holes or higher coreness. These findings highlight the importance of strategically managing both the dynamics and embeddedness of interorganizational collaboration networks to improve organizations' technological innovation output.