This paper provides an empirical account of the case of Taiwan in her innovative efforts in the herbal medicine sector through scientific and technological development. This study aims to propose a network analysis approach, which is typically found in innovation studies, to illustrate the sociological dimensions of actor network theory. The sector is of interest from a social studies of science perspective due to the collision between traditional knowledge philosophies, which are well accepted in East Asian communities, and scientific regulatory standards, that have raised issues regarding the legitimacy and safety of the products. This study considers the actor network linkages between universities, government and industry which act as indicators of knowledge diffusion and collaboration. Relevant records were captured using a heuristic search string and was used to visualize: (i) the number of researchers (agglomeration denoted by the size of bubbles), (ii) organizational linkages through co-authorship (connectedness indicated by the presence of lines between organizations), and (iii) position of the organization (centrality in relation to other organizations). The case presented in this study takes a snapshot of how an advanced economy such as Taiwan, has developed a productive innovation system for herbal medicine. The development of the actor network has evolved mainly from productive working relationships in a close-knit community of researchers that mainly interact through the research organizations in Taipei.
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The Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy Development Act introduced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan at the end of 2019 marks a culmination in the continued advancement of the Chinese medicine sector in Taiwan (Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China Citation2019). The sector has shown marked growth (Fung and Wong Citation2015) in recent history and has drawn interest as a case study of indigenous knowledge that is being modernized despite its traditional medical philosophy. The global herbal medicine market was valued at USD 71.19 billion in 2016 and the annual industrial output for China listed on the herbal database Chinese Materia Medica was USD 47.84 billion in 2010 (Hexa Research Citation2017; World Health Organization Citation2012), which represents a 29.5% increase from the previous year. The size of the Chinese market, as well as that of the rest of the region, means that there is sufficient incentive for neighboring countries to research their herbal medicine traditions to explore and develop new products specific to this sector to exploit the growing commercial market.
