International Knowledge And Innovation Networks

This work is a new, valuable reference and tool for scholars, students, practitioners and policymakers interested in knowledge, innovation, regional growth and competitiveness. Pier Paolo Patrucco, Italian Journal of Regional Science This book is remarkable for several reasons. It provides highly relevant empirical analysis into a fundamental but under-researched area, namely medium technology industries. It proposes a new theoretical approach which builds on cognitive economics to explain how innovation in these industries is generated by interactive learning. It develops important policy implications based on the concept of governance. In doing so, the authors of this book are able to successfully blend together micro to macro levels of analysis as well as regional and industrial economics with public policy. The book should be carefully read by economists and social scientists, policy makers and businessmen interested in innovation at the regional level. Luigi Orsenigo, University of Brescia and Bocconi University, Italy This book explores the distinct nature of innovation in medium technology industrial sectors which are the key to European international competitiveness and examines the recent changes of networks within regional clusters. The authors present best-practice management and regional strategies, and develop an original and coherent theoretical framework for the analysis of innovation processes called Territorial Knowledge Management . They concentrate on the territorial dimension and the cognitive economics approach, and go beyond the traditional focus on R&D in high-tech sectors. The pivotal role of intermediate institutions in the governance of modern co-ordinated market economies is also highlighted. Working towards defining new guidelines for creating networks of competence centers and removing barriers to the enlargement of knowledge and innovation networks in Europe, this book will prove an enlightening read for those with an interest in postgraduate level management and innovation studies. Management and policy-making practitioners at both the regional and European level will also find much to interest them.

In Economics, networks are increasingly used to describe the many links created between independent companies, as well as between them and other institutions (universities, banks, venture capital, etc.). In the current global and knowledge-based economy, they can be characterised as knowledge factories and knowledge boosters. They feed the internal processes of innovation (collaborative innovation) or the external processes of innovation, created by the propagation effects that come from inter-firm collaboration. The book explains how innovation networks are at the origin of the production of new knowledge that will be transformed and used in common as well as in separated production processes. This characteristic of networks as knowledge factories gives incentives to further investment in the production of knowledge and ensures the cumulativeness of the innovation process. Some of the authors clearly take a territorial point of view and study how clusters (in different parts of the world: Europe, Eastern Asia and North America) propelled by the quality of the innovation networks they enclose, can be characterised as knowledge pools into which the local actors will be able to draw to reinforce their individual and collective competitiveness. This book also includes analyses of the quality of the networks built within clusters, which may help their identification.

Knowledge Networks: Innovation Through Communities of Practice explores the inner workings of an organizational, internationally distributed Community of Practice. The book highlights the weaknesses of the 'traditional' KM approach of 'capture-codify-store' and asserts that communities of practice are recognized as groups where soft (knowledge that cannot be captured) knowledge is created and sustained. Readers will gain insight into a period the life of a distributed international community of practice by following the members as they work, meet, collaborate, interact and socialize.

Examines the 'knowledge network' whose primary mandate is to create and disseminate knowledge based on multidisciplinary research that is informed by problem-solving as well as theoretical agendas.

Regional developers and network administrators are proud of having the largest number of registered network participants and clicks on their internet platform. However, what ultimately counts are the real business contacts that lead to additional sales, sustainable supplier-relationships, or to innovation projects leading to sustainable competitive advantages for companies and regions. Thomas Bentivegna focuses on ad-hoc networks, which are poorly represented in existing network and innovation literature. He identifies, classifies and categorizes different innovation network types operating in 5 European countries (Switzerland, Germany, England, Ireland, and France) based on data collected from 28 firms. He shows how a basic understanding of the types of innovation networks which are operating in North-West Europe, as well as the typical firm profile for each one, can be an effective tool in helping to support the agenda of several different key innovation actors.

In the 21st century, intangible resources such as knowledge and social capital have become as necessary to the modern economy as coal, diamonds, and oil were to the past. This shift from product-focused to service-focused economies necessitates a drastic re-thinking of the ways in which we support the mission and business of economic development on a global, regional, and national scale. In order to effect and sustain a positive change, innovation and knowledge networks need to be connected to every aspect of life, from the private and domestic, to the corporate and the global. This book integrates a wide variety of perspectives and treatises on mutually adaptive and complementary processes of knowledge generation, diffusion, and transfer within organizations and industry, addressing both the what and how to questions of knowledge management in a conceptual as well as an applied manner. It should be of strong interest to science and technology policy makers, research and development managers, business decision makers, and students of innovation and knowledge dynamics alike.

Migration is conceived differently in Europe compared with countries like the US, Canada or Australia. International Innovation Networks and Knowledge Migration confronts traditional views on migration with modern theories of brain circulation and innovation networks, showing that migration leads to mutual benefits for both the home and host countries This new volume brings together several case studies and empirical in-depth analyses which are constructed from the strong migration relationship between Turkey and Germany that has existed for more than 50 years. Bringing together over 20 international contributors, this book highlights that knowledge migration and cultural diversity can strongly stimulate entrepreneurial activities, competence acquisition and economic development of countries and regions. The authors highlight the considerable scope for improvement of European migration policies in order to be better prepared to successfully process structural changes stemming from an aging society in Europe, and an increasing international division of labour. This volume is suitable for those who study industrial economics, international economics and European economics. It is also of interest to those who want to delve deeper into the Turkish-German migration nexus.

Innovation, Networks and Learning Regions? address key issues of understanding in contemporary economic geography and local economic policy making in cities and regions in the advanced economies. Developing the idea that innovation is the primary driving force behind economic change and growth, the international range of contributors stress the importance of knowledge and information as the 'raw materials' of innovation. They examine the ways in which these elements may be acquired and linked through networks, and demonstrate that there are empirical examples of innovative areas which do not have highly developed networks yet appear to be relatively successful in terms of local economic growth. In so doing, they raise crucial questions about the ways in which regions or localities might be described as truly 'learning' areas, and about the sustainability of future economic and quality of life success based on innovation and high-technology.