This study shows evidence for collaborative knowledge creation among
individual researchers through direct exchanges of their mutual differentiated
knowledge. Using patent application data from Japan, the collaborative output
is evaluated according to the quality and novelty of the developed patents,
which are measured in terms of forward citations and the order of application
within their primary technological category, respectively. Knowledge exchange
is shown to raise collaborative productivity more through the extensive margin
(i.e., the number of patents developed) in the quality dimension, whereas it
does so more through the intensive margin in the novelty dimension (i.e.,
novelty of each patent).