This paper claims that the failure of innovation network could be related to the type of knowledge base of innovative activities within that network. Different aspects of innovation networks are affected by this knowledge base like geographical configuration, structure, key members, and type of relations among members. Having a discussion about networks failure, this paper studies and analyzes the relation between knowledge base and failure of innovation networks through analysis of empirical data which is extracted from four case studies of innovation networks in oil & gas industry with synthetic knowledge base. Two of these networks were succeeded and two were failed. The findings show that in the networks with synthetic knowledge base, the more academic members are involved, the more the structure is decentralized, the more relations are formal, and the more governance is open; then the probability of network failure would be more.
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