An analysis of the intellectual structure of the cloud patents of SaaS

In this study, we reveal and analyse the hitherto implicit intellectual structure of cloud computing by using the methods of patent clustering and co-word clustering, respectively. In order to enhance the quality of patent clustering, we conduct the Taguchi method, which uses the E–I index as the quality characteristic, to investigate three influential factors to the quality, including the cut-off value for dichotomisation, the number of terms, and the sparsity. In co-word clustering analysis, this study demonstrates how the utilisation of the proposed modified co-word analysis method, factor analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis, and network analysis can efficiently explore the relation between R&D themes and competition between companies. This study reveals the knowledge networks in the area of Software as a Service (SaaS), thereby helping academia and practitioners to reach a richer understanding of the up-to-date studies.