Abstract
Personal networks, in contrast to organizational relations, have recently increased their significance to firms by allowing them to acquire external knowledge and strengthen their innovation capacity. Hot debates on the geography and innovation effects of personal networks persist, but these discussions are mainly derived from research works on western economies. Since personal interactions are context-sensitive, this paper examines the geography and the innovation effects of personal networks on biomedical firms in Guangzhou, which has a unique political and socioeconomic context owing to the transitional nature of China. This case study indicates that the geographic nature of personal knowledge networks is largely locally-based, and the primary driver of such networks is experience-based practices, such as repeated face-to-face contacts, labor mobility, and shared life experience. Personal knowledge networks contribute to both problem-solving and radical innovation for firms as a result of the guanxi-based relations in China that transform personal networks into channels for mobilizing innovation-related resources. Moreover, by dividing personal networks into bonding, bridging, and linking networks, this paper also de-homogenizes personal networks and delineates specific and differentiated innovation effects of manifold social relationships. Based on the research findings, policy implications aiming at laying the social ground of innovation are addressed.
Highlights
In the era of knowledge-based economy, knowledge has become a strategic economic resource and learning has been a key process for innovation [1]
Despite the significance acknowledged recently, the geography of personal networks and how they contribute to knowledge sourcing and innovation of firms are still underexplored, in developing countries where socioeconomic context varies substantially from that of western economies [20,21]
By contextualizing the personal networks of high-tech firms in Chinese cities and drawing on existing theoretical works, this paper examines the geography of personal networks for knowledge sourcing and how they contribute to firm innovation
Summary
In the era of knowledge-based economy, knowledge has become a strategic economic resource and learning has been a key process for innovation [1]. In the so-called “knowledge economy 2.0”, learning is conceptualized as a process of social interactions among knowledgeable individuals taking place in a social-cultural context that goes beyond organizations [17]. In light of this trend, there has been more weight placed on the importance of personal networks for knowledge sourcing and innovation for firms [18,19]. Despite the significance acknowledged recently, the geography of personal networks and how they contribute to knowledge sourcing and innovation of firms are still underexplored, in developing countries where socioeconomic context varies substantially from that of western economies [20,21]
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