Silicon Valley in the Polder? Entrepreneurial Dynamics, Virtuous Clusters and Vicious Firms in the Netherlands and Flanders

High-technology starters do not operate in a vacuum and innovation is not a solitary activity. The activities of technology-based firms are embedded in socio-economic networks with other companies, investors, universities, vocational institutions, etc. The geographical proximity of those institutions and infrastructural hubs will partly play a role in determine the location of ICT firms decision. Furthermore, many high-tech companies shape clusters around areas where their major customers are located. The topic of this paper is regional clustering Enright, 1992; Rosenfeld, 1997within the context of Internet and ICT technology. A dynamic model previously developed for the analysis of ICT-entrepreneurship and

Business networks and localization effects for new Swedish technology-based firms’ innovation performance

This study examines the business networks and localization effects for new technology-based firms (NTBFs) in the context of innovation performance (the number of patents and product differentiation). In this regard, the study includes 28 variables. A survey was conducted in 2016 with 401 Swedish NTBFs that were small and young (the employment mean was 1.80 and the average age of each firm was 28.3\ua0months). The biggest category of NTBFs was knowledge-intensive high-technology services, followed by medium high-technology manufacturing, and high-technology manufacturing. Hypotheses on how business networks and localization are related to innovation performance were tested using principal component analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The results show that the primary significant factor for innovation performance regarding business networks and localization dimensions are professional network services, while industrial and regional areas also have a positive relationship on product differentiation. Our study also shows that innovation performance enhances firms’ abilities to access external financing through professional network services (e.g., venture capital companies)

The interplay of agency, culture and networks in field evolution

We examine organizational field change instigated by activists. Contrary to existing views emphasizing incumbent resistance, we suggest that collaboration between incumbents and challenger movements may emerge when a movement's cultural and relational fabric becomes moderately structured, creating threats and market opportunities but remaining permeable to external influence. We also elucidate how lead incumbents' attempts at movement cooptation may be deflected through distributed brokerage. The resulting confluence of cultural and relational "structuration" between movement and field accelerates the pace but dilutes the radicalness of institutional innovation, ensuring ongoing, incremental field change. Overall, this article contributes to the emergent literature on field dynamics by uncovering the evolution and outcomes of collaborative work at the intersection of social movements and incumbent fields

Developing international business relationships in a Russian context

The collapse of the former Soviet Union has opened up a wealth of business opportunities for companies seeking new markets in the Russian Federation. Despite this, firms intending to do business in Russia have found themselves hampered by cultural differences in business practices and expectations. As Russia integrates into the global economy, understanding such practices and the managerial mindset of business people is crucial for managers who hope to navigate Russia's complex markets. This study draws on the trust literature and adopts quantitative tools to deconstruct the Russian 'Sviazi' system of social capital business networking. We develop a model isolating three dimensions of Sviazi: one an affective or emotional component; the second, a conative component; and the third, a cognitive component. The model provides a useful guide for helping foreign firms to succeed in Russia, while also serving as a basis for further research in the field. Keywords

A roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science for the next two decades and beyond

Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to ‘scan the horizon’ to identify the highest priority scientific questions that researchers should aspire to answer in the next two decades and beyond. Wide consultation was a fundamental principle for the development of a collective, international view of the most important future directions in Antarctic science. From the many possibilities, the horizon scan identified 80 key scientific questions through structured debate, discussion, revision and voting. Questions were clustered into seven topics: i)Antarctic atmosphere and global connections, ii) Southern Ocean and sea ice in a warming world, iii) ice sheet and sea level, iv) the dynamic Earth, v) life on the precipice, vi) near-Earth space and beyond, and vii) human presence in Antarctica. Answering the questions identified by the horizon scan will require innovative experimental designs, novel applications of technology, invention of next-generation field and laboratory approaches, and expanded observing systems and networks. Unbiased, non-contaminating procedures will be required to retrieve the requisite air, biota, sediment, rock, ice and water samples. Sustained year-round access toAntarctica and the Southern Ocean will be essential to increase winter-time measurements. Improved models are needed that represent Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the Earth System, and provide predictions at spatial and temporal resolutions useful for decision making. A co-ordinated portfolio of cross-disciplinary science, based on new models of international collaboration, will be essential as no scientist, programme or nation can realize these aspirations alone.Tinker Foundation, Antarctica New Zealand, The New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), the Alfred Wegner Institut, Helmholtz Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung (Germany), and the British Antarctic Survey (UK).http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ANShb201

Phase Synchronization of fluid-fluid interfaces as hydrodynamically coupled oscillators

Hydrodynamic interactions play a role in synchronized motions of coupled oscillators in fluids, and understanding the mechanism will facilitate development of applications in fluid mechanics. For example, synchronization phenomenon in two-phase flow will benefit the design of future microfluidic devices, allowing spatiotemporal control of microdroplet generation without additional integration of control elements. In this work, utilizing a characteristic oscillation of adjacent interfaces between two immiscible fluids in a microfluidic platform, we discover that the system can act as a coupled oscillator, notably showing spontaneous in-phase synchronization of droplet breakup. With this observation of in-phase synchronization, the coupled droplet generator exhibits a complete set of modes of coupled oscillators, including out-of-phase synchronization and nonsynchronous modes. We present a theoretical model to elucidate how a negative feedback mechanism, tied to the distance between the interfaces, induces the in-phase synchronization. We also identify the criterion for the transition from in-phase to out-of-phase oscillations