International Trade Fairs and Global Buzz. Part II: Practices of Global Buzz

Abstract

International trade fairs bring together agents from all over the world for a limited time period. They create a dense ecology of communication and information flows, referred to as “global buzz”. Global buzz associated with face-to-face (F2F) communication is extremely important for agents participating in these events as it generates access to developments occurring in different parts of the world. It helps to maintain and intensify existing networks, establish new networks or “trans-local pipelines” and support the development of shared attitudes and understandings. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence about the significance of global buzz in its manifold forms. Our research emphasizes the benefits that result from four sets of closely interrelated practices: (i) global knowledge exchange based on F2F interaction, (ii) exploration of market trends, (iii) problem solving and idea generation and (iv) network generation and pipeline-building in interpretative communities. The paper argues that practices of acquiring information, networking and dealing with competition differ substantially according to industry, firm and product characteristics. Our analysis of global buzz practices draws from more than 460 semi-structured interviews, which were conducted between 2004 and 2006 at seven national and international trade fairs in Frankfurt/Main, Hannover and Nürnberg, Germany.