  This study examines the network of supply and use of significant innovations
across industries in Sweden, 1970-2013. It is found that 30% of innovation
patterns can be predicted by network stimulus from backward and forward
linkages. The network is hierarchical, characterized by hubs that connect
diverse industries in closely knitted communities. To explain the network
structure, a preferential weight assignment process is proposed as an
adaptation of the classical preferential attachment process to weighted
directed networks. The network structure is strongly predicted by this process
where historical technological linkages and proximities matter, while human
capital flows and economic input-output flows have conflicting effects on link
formation. The results are consistent with the idea that innovations emerge in
closely connected communities, but suggest that the transformation of
technological systems are shaped by technological requirements, imbalances and
opportunities that are not straightforwardly related to other proximities.
