![Stylized TQI calculation
a, Visual representation of the TQI calculation. The initial colour of each flow represents the country of origin (red, Germany; orange, United States), and the end colour represents the industry of origin (blue, cars; green, chemicals; purple, agriculture). The width of the flow is proportional to its intensity. b, Overrepresentation of business travellers by industry for China, Mexico and Germany. Overrepresentation of industry i in country of destination d is calculated as the share of business travellers attributed to industry i as a percentage of the total inflow of business travellers in country d, divided by the industry’s share in global business travel TQIid/∑i′∈ITQIi′d ∑d′TQIid′/∑i″∈I,d″∈CTQIi″d″\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\left( \frac{{{\mathrm{TQI}}}_{id}/\sum _{i^{\prime} \in I}{{\mathrm{TQI}}}_{i^{\prime} d}}{\sum _{d^{\prime} }{{\mathrm{TQI}}}_{id^{\prime} }/\sum _{i^{\prime\prime} \in I,d^{\prime\prime} \in C}{{\mathrm{TQI}}}_{i^{\prime\prime} d^{\prime\prime} }}\right)$$\end{document}.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343562564/figure/fig2/AS:923212716199959@1597122472611/Stylized-TQI-calculation-a-Visual-representation-of-the-TQI-calculation-The-initial_Q320.jpg)
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Articles
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0922-x
1Center for International Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. 2ITU Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. 3Mastercard Center for
Inclusive Growth, Purchase, NY, USA. ✉e-mail: michele_coscia@hks.harvard.edu
Globalization has led to a tremendous increase in interna-
tional business travel. The growth of international business
travel has outstripped the growth of the world economy by a
wide margin; whereas nominal, US$-denominated, global GDP has
risen by 0.7% per year between 2011 and 2016 (ref. 1), our data sug-
gest that nominal expenditures related to business travel have grown
at an annualized rate of 8.3% over the same period (see Methods).
This growth coincides with substantial improvements in the avail-
ability, quality and costs of long-distance communication technolo-
gies. From conference calls to online collaboration platforms, new
technologies have made it easier for businesses to connect across
the globe without the need for costly and time-consuming travel.
So why do we still need to travel so much? What can face-to-face
interaction on business trips achieve that other means of commu-
nication cannot?
Business scholars have argued that, without face-to-face com-
munication, some knowledge is hard to transmit2. Accordingly,
one can think of knowledge as consisting of three components. The
first component is knowledge that is codified in production reci-
pes, algorithms, textbooks, blueprints and so on3. This knowledge
component consists of know-what and know-why4—knowledge
about facts, such as the physical dimensions of a product, and about
well-understood causal mechanisms, such as the laws of physics.
The second component consists of knowledge that is embedded in
physical artifacts, such as machines, tools or intermediate products5.
Nowadays, either component can be easily transferred. The costs at
which machines, tools and semi-finished products can be shipped
has never been lower and, with internet-based technology, code and
textbooks can be transmitted almost instantaneously at high fidelity.
However, transmitting the third component of knowledge
is more complex. This component consists of knowing how to
expertly carry out certain tasks oneself or knowing where to find
someone who possesses this expertise. The former is often referred
to as know-how and the latter as know-who4. This third component
of knowledge resides in people, teams of people and in the relation-
ships between these teams6. Large parts of such knowledge cannot
be easily articulated by its carriers, and it would be extremely costly
to codify7, let alone transmitted in digital form; it has therefore been
described as tacit8. Although tacit knowledge is typically associ-
ated with physical and artisanal skills, sociologists of science have
shown that tacit knowledge also has an important role in science
and technology9,10. Moreover, its transfer, which is indispensable in
the training of scientists and engineers, typically involves repeated
interaction, imitation and on-the-job training and is often orga-
nized in an apprenticeship-like relationship between the experi-
enced scientist and the trainee, as evident in common practice in
doctoral training programs and artfully illustrated by MacKenzie
and Spinardi’s11 case study on the design of nuclear weapons.
Given that, in modern economies, knowledge about even the
most mundane production technologies is too complex for any sin-
gle individual to comprehend in full, know-how often needs to be
complemented by know-who, that is, knowledge of how and where
to access experts in a field. Know-who is particularly important in
interfirm relationships, as it helps to identify and forge alliances
with customers and suppliers12. Similar to know-how, know-who
tends to be more tacit, embedded in people’s understanding of the
social network that surrounds them as well as in the understanding
of where in this network reliable and trustworthy expertise can be
tapped.
In light of this, one plausible explanation for why business travel
has not just endured, but even expanded, despite the increasing
availability of substitutes in the form of new communication tech-
nologies is that these new technologies are still inadequate when
it comes to transmitting tacit know-how or to establishing the
trust-based relationships associated with know-who. By temporar-
ily relocating know-how by moving the individuals who carry it,
business travel enables face-to-face contacts through which tacit
know-how can diffuse and trust and social networks can develop.
Here we mapped the pattern of global business travel and investi-
gated how it affects the growth of economic activity. Our underlying
hypothesis is that business travel enables the diffusion of know-how
and know-who across countries. Our hypothesis is related to pre-
vious research that has used business travel as an explanation for
bilateral trade links13,14, innovation15 and increases in productivity16.
Knowledge diffusion in the network of
international business travel
Michele Coscia 1,2 ✉ , Frank M. H. Neffke 1 and Ricardo Hausmann 1,3
We use aggregated and anonymized information based on international expenditures through corporate payment cards to map
the network of global business travel. We combine this network with information on the industrial composition and export
baskets of national economies. The business travel network helps to predict which economic activities will grow in a country,
which new activities will develop and which old activities will be abandoned. In statistical terms, business travel has the most
substantial impact among a range of bilateral relationships between countries, such as trade, foreign direct investments and
migration. Moreover, our analysis suggests that this impact is causal: business travel from countries specializing in a specific
industry causes growth in that economic activity in the destination country. Our interpretation of this is that business travel
helps to diffuse knowledge, and we use our estimates to assess which countries contribute or benefit the most from the diffu-
sion of knowledge through global business travel.
NATURE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR | VOL 4 | OCTOBER 2020 | 1011–1020 | www.nature.com/nathumbehav 1011
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