Poster #56 - Pandemic Proximity: Did COVID-19 Redraw the Geography of Korea's National R&D Collaboration?

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

Did COVID-19 democratize access to R&D networks—or deepen existing inequalities? While geographic proximity has long been a cornerstone of R&D, the pandemic introduced an unprecedented shock to collaborative norms. This study examines whether this period of disruption permanently restructured the geographic reach of Korea's national innovation system—and for whom.

We analyze 297,062 collaboration dyads from Korea’s National R&D Program Survey and Analysis data (2015–2024), measuring route distance between partnering institutions. Using OLS regression models with institution-type controls, type of R&D dummies, budget/funding variables, and regional fixed effects, we evaluate the spatial shifts before and after the COVID-19 shock. Korea offers an ideal test case: geographically compact yet institutionally stratified, with comprehensive administrative micro-data.

Mean collaboration distance expanded around 10% post-pandemic (p<0.001), yet this aggregate shift masks institutional polarization. We observe opposing dynamics by project cohort: continuing collaborations contracted 11.1% as established partners retreated to nearby, proven ties during the period of uncertainty. In contrast, new collaborations expanded 4.2%, but this expansion was highly uneven. SMEs maintained the narrowest geographic reach (mean 93.9 km vs. 135.6 km for large corporations), and experimental development remained significantly more localized than basic research (98.2 km vs. 125.0 km, β=−0.206, p<0.001), reflecting persistent knowledge-codification constraints across different types of R&D.

Beyond cohort differences, the OLS specifications reveal systematic structural determinants. Large corporations exhibited strategic bifurcation: 32.7% collaborated locally (<50 km) while 30.4% partnered nationally (>200 km)—a bimodal pattern unseen in other institution types. Larger budgets expand reach (β=0.217, p<0.001), while higher private funding ratios compress it (β=−0.470, p<0.001), suggesting that certain funding structures reinforce proximity-based ties. Event-study evidence confirms pre-pandemic parallel trends and persistent divergence through 2024.

These findings reveal substantial heterogeneity in how different actors responded to the pandemic shock. The contraction of continuing collaborations signals a risk-averse retreat to local partnerships. The expansion of new collaborations—concentrated among large firms and basic research—suggests that geographic flexibility was a privilege of institutional capacity and specific types of R&D. Post-pandemic R&D policy must address this geography-based stratification: facilitating broader access for SMEs and development-oriented projects through targeted intermediaries, as geographic proximity remains a functional necessity for these vulnerable segments of the innovation ecosystem.

Author

• Haseon Jeong, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP)
  Presenting Author