Knowledge domains of global ICT companies: Topic modeling of patent data

The increased complexity of technologies has changed the dynamics of innovation in that there is an increased need for cross-disciplinary activities. Studies have shown that technologically diverse knowledge systems are a dominant feature in companies, as multiple fields of knowledge are integrated in the innovation process. The breadth and depth of knowledge in companies is in parts visible outside the company in codified information such as patents, where patent classifications provide a tool for analyses. In this study, we explore the latent knowledge dimensions of patents in global ICT companies with Topic Modeling. We focus on 1) can we identify topical knowledge foci of different companies and 2) if so, what are the dynamics of knowledge domains among the companies? We selected nine globally operating ICT companies, seen in Table 2, for which we extracted patent data from PATSTAT.