Does the geographical mobility of scientists shape their collaboration network? A panel approach of chemists' careers.

This study assesses the impact of geographical mobility of academic researchers on the formation and dynamics of their coauthorship network, through a bibliometric analysis. Based on 80 French chemists' careers (9310 publications and 14,783 coauthors), panel models point out first that coauthorship network features are independent of individual mobility: there is a stable volume of new coauthors and the researcher's lab colleagues per article, in all generations and career stages. Second, it highlights that mobility (i) allows network diversification but only in the short term and restricted to the new city attended and (ii) reduces the likelihood of sustaining collaborations with colleagues from the previously attended cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]