Learning and Innovation in Inter-Organizational Relationships and Networks

This paper gives a survey of insights into inter-firm alliances and networks for innovation, from a constructivist, interactionist perspective on knowledge, which leads to the notion of 'cognitive distance'.It looks at both the competence and the governance side of relationships.Given cognitive distance, organizations need to align cognition sufficiently to enable the fast and efficient utilization of opportunities from complementary capabilities.This, I propose, is done by means of a culturally mediated 'organizational cognitive focus'.The problem with that is that it yields a greater or lesser organizational myopia that, for the sake of innovation, needs to be complemented by means of outside relations with other firms, at larger cognitive distance. Hence the importance of networks for innovation.On the governance side, the paper gives a review of relational risks and instruments to manage them.Next to the effects of cognitive distance, the paper analyses the effects of density and strength of ties in innovation networks, concerning both competence and governance.inter-organizational relationships;networks;competence;governance;innovation;cognitive distance

Density and Strength of Ties in Innovation Networks: A Competence and Governance View

Taking into account both competence and governance issues, and six dimensions of tie strength, this article argues that in networks for exploration there are good reasons, counter to the thesis of the 'strength of weak ties', for a dense structure of ties that are strong in most dimensions.By contrast, in exploitation networks there are good reasons for structures that are non-dense, with ties that are strong in other dimensions than in networks for exploration.innovation;networks;strength of ties;governance;biotechnology;multi-media

Strategic Knowledge Measurement and Management

Knowledge and intellectual capital are now recognized as vital resources for organizational survival and competitive advantage. A vast array of knowledge measures has evolved, spanning many disciplines. This chapter reviews knowledge measures focusing on groups of individuals (such as teams, business and organizations), as they reflect the stock or flow of knowledge, as well as enabling processes that enhance knowledge stocks and flows. The chapter emphasizes the importance of organizational value chains, pivotal talent pools and the link between knowledge and competitive success, in understanding the significance of today’s knowledge measures, and opportunities for future research and practice to enhance them

Innovation Policies for Small and Medium Size Enterprises in Asia: An Innovation Systems Perspective

The point of departure for this chapter is that in developing countries SMEs2 are responsible for the largest part of employment and a significant share of added value. And that innovation policy supporting the particularities of SMEs has been widely ignored (occasionally SMEs have even been discriminated). This chapter aims at shedding soe light on the immensely complicated issue of innovation policy for SMEs in developing countries, or more specifically Asian SMEs. The chapter applies the so-called regional innovation systems approach. In this paper, we analyze four clusters of SMEs that have been especially successful in entering the global market; special attention is paid to the so-called soft infrastructure, the industry specific needs for cluster (e.g. interaction) and RIS dynamics/polices (e.g. needs for devolution; industry specific needs for building knowledge creating institutions).The chapter is structured as follows. After introducing stylized facts on SMEs innovative performance attention is turned to the theoretical framework. Taking into account the localized nature of SMEs economic activity, our level of analysis is the regional system of innovation (RIS). We provide a general introduction, contextualize this to Asian situation, and introduce the industry differences (inspired by Pietrobelli and Rabelotti’s typology). Then we turn to the empirical section where special attention is paid to the four cases. Finally, we turn to drawing general conclusions on innovation policies and need for restructuring of Asian innovation systems (the accent is on the former).Innovation Policy; Developing countries; Innovation systems

Common Territory? : Comparing the IMP Approach with Economic Geography

The IMP research tradition has always been open to the cross-fertilisation of ideas with other social science disciplines that study similar phenomena. Recent years have seen a growing interest among IMP researchers in phenomena such as regional strategic networks, spatial clusters and innovation and new business development in networks. IMP papers published on these topics are increasingly citing conceptual frameworks and empirical findings from the field of economic geography. This paper discusses the development of IMP thought and the development of thought in economic geography (particularly evolutionary economic geography), and compares their approaches to the analysis of regional phenomena. The goal is to identify key ideas from economic geography that have been under-exploited in IMP research, in order to suggest original new approaches available to IMP researchers interested in these fields. A number of such ideas are explored: proximity as a multi-dimensional and multi-faceted concept; the distinction between, and relative importance of, learning activities arising automatically from being embedded in a community (local or regional buzz) and learning activities arising from positive investment in channels of communication (pipelines); the concept of relational capital developed by economic geographers; and, conceptualisations of externalities commonly used in the study of spatial clustersPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Density and strength of ties in innovation networks: a competence and governance view.

innovation, networks

Dynamic Capacities in Promotion of Economic Development of City-regions

Traditionally policy-making in urban economic development (UED) is based on a fairly well established belief in the capabilities of policy-makers to find the correct strategies for the future by rational planning. I argue, based on series of studies focusing on UED-policies, that in a knowledge economy the nature of UED-policies are changing, the new forms of power are emerging and consequently the significance of leadership is rising. It also seems that UED-policies are often too administrative in nature and true leadership is easily lost in the jungle of old thinking, development plans, rules, etc. In Finland, in the era of building the welfare state, ?leadership? in public organisation required good administrative skills, knowledge of various statutes, and the ability to follow instructions correctly and efficiently, or could it rather be said that the System as a whole had leadership. The knowledge economy is so clearly more complex, more blurred, more dynamic and more penetrating that policy-makers are forced to learn new skills and become more skilled in leading transition and interactive processes, not only in administrating resources and formulating development programmes. I argue that there should be more emphasis on leadership both in research and in the communities of practice. In order to be able to influence events, leaders have to act in the riptide of different interests and aims, and find a totally new range of means that can be applied in different events. It should also be noted that leadership may be seen as the effect of actors on one another and it may be that the promotion of regional development has several leaders having different qualities in leading. In order to be a leader, individual or an organisation engaged in promotion of urban economic development need, in most simple terms, a) to go before or to show the way, b) to influence or to induce, c) to go head of or in advance of, d) to have the advantage over, e) to act as leader, f) to go through or pass and g) to act as guide (source: the Webster?s dictionary). But what is to lead in a complex, ambiguous and muddled process of urban economic development? How to go before or to induce or to act as guide if one does not have formal power to do it? How to go ahead of, if one has formal position but is not respected? This paper answers these questions, among others, by analysing leadership in two Finnish city-regions; Tampere and Jyväskylä. First, theoretical framework that places leadership in a wider conceptual context is scrutinised. Secondly, the development policies of Jyväskylä and Tampere focusing on knowledge economy are described, thirdly, the cases are analysed from the leadership point of view, and fourthly the modes of leadership are elaborated and the new forms of power deliberated.