Global Pipelines Research Articles

Networking, context and firm-level innovation: Cooperation through the regional filter in Norway

The paper assesses the role for innovation of one aspect which has been generally overlooked by evolutionary economic geography: context. It analyses how context shapes the impact of collaboration on firm-level innovation for 1604 firms located in the five largest city regions of Norway. Specifically, the analysis shows how the benefits to firms of collaborating within regional, national, and international innovation networks are affected by the knowledge endowments of the region within which the firm is located. Using a logit regression analysis, we find, first, that only national and international networking have a significant positive impact on the likelihood of innovation (the former only for process innovation), whereas the regional knowledge endowments have no direct effect. Second, regional cooperation is particularly effective in regions with high investments in R&D, whereas international cooperation is important in regions with an educated workforce – and regional and national collaboration may be ineffective in such cases. We conclude that, in the case of Norway, context is essential in determining the capacity of firms to set up networks and innovate. Regions with an educated workforce can use the resulting absorptive capacity to successfully assimilate knowledge being diffused through global pipelines from faraway places. However, this absorptive capacity is likely to be heavily filtered if regional firms mainly rely on internal connections within Norway.

Events as Spaces for Upgrading: Evidence from Auto Shanghai

This study contributes to the literature dealing with upgrading of the Chinese automotive industry by analysing the role of events in the upgrading process. By combining literature on temporary clusters with that of knowledge sourcing and upgrading, we investigate how firms use events for upgrading. To do so, we systematically analyse a number of upgrading mechanisms. Moreover we analyse how event organisers can influence these mechanisms, and identify a number of barriers that may hinder the process of upgrading during events. Our empirical study of two automotive events in Shanghai reveals that firms use events particularly for monitoring, to access global buzz, and for the development of new global pipelines. Mobility turned to be less relevant. Event organisers act as ‘temporary cluster managers’, and influence upgrading via three types of policies: content policy, matchmaking policy and access policy. Identified barriers include defensive strategies of exhibitors, a focus on trade, and the large size of the show. These barriers hinder monitoring and access to global buzz and pipelines in particular.

Global pipelines for innovation: insights from the case of Norway

Using data on 418 Norwegian firms, the results confirm the hypotheses that innovative/radically innovative firms tend to be more involved in international personal and formal networks than non-innovative/incrementally innovative ones. While regional and national networks are much more widespread than international ones, they are not significantly positively associated with innovation. International personal networks and international links with suppliers and customers and with universities and research institutions, as well as global buzz with strangers, are positively related to innovation. This suggests that innovation management and policy, in particular in countries with a limited national innovation base, could benefit from facilitating certain international networks.

R&D networks and regional knowledge production: an agent-based simulation of the Austrian competence centres programme

fer to long-term scenarios regarding the level and duration of public funding. By addressing the complexities of knowledge interaction in the context of the “local buzz” versus “global pipelines” discussion, the results show the potential of empirically calibrated simulation models for ex-ante impact assessment in R&D policy.

Capabilities for Innovation in a Globalizing World: from Nearby or at a Distance?

This paper addresses the question of how clustering affects firms’ capabilities to innovate. This paper uses a specifically tailored survey carried out in 2013 of the geographical distance and scope of collaboration for innovation of 2002 firms located in the four largest Norwegian city-regions with the rest of the country as a separate category. We find that a majority of firms are located in regional clusters. However, the number of international relations increases the capacity to innovate. An international business environment stimulates the capability to innovate more than being part of a regional cluster. Firms that successfully develop global pipelines to knowledge sources in distant locations often sidestep the risk of lock-in, associated with relying solely on local sources of information (Malecki, 2010; Fitjar & RodriguezPose, 2011). Our findings suggest that caution should be exercised when invoking the concept of regional clusters to explain or define regional competitiveness. The cluster model obviously assigns too much importance to the regional business context, and to local interaction and externalities. These findings suggest that policies to advance the capabilities to innovate in Norwegian firms and regions may need to be revised.

The geographical dimension of innovation collaboration: Networking and innovation in Norway

This paper looks at the geographical dimension of firm networking in Norway, by examining the impact of manager-level, firm-level and regional-level variables on the decisions of firms to collaborate with partners at different levels of geographical distance. Using data stemming from a survey of 1604 businesses in five Norwegian city-regions, we model firms’ use of partners located within the region, elsewhere in the country and abroad, respectively. The results indicate that collaboration is affected in different ways by variables related to all three levels. At the level of the manager, trust is an important predictor of regional and national collaboration, but has no significant effect on the formation of international partnerships, which are fundamentally associated with factors such as education and the open-mindedness of managers. At the regional level, R&D expenditure tends to increase collaboration between regional actors, but reduces the likelihood of engagement with international partners. Education, by contrast, has the opposite effect: it encourages international collaboration at the expense of local links. The results highlight the need to balance policies for boosting regional social capital and R&D with investments in education and fostering open-mindedness as a means to prevent lock-in and develop innovation-enhancing global pipelines.

Capability accumulation, innovation, and technology diffusion: Lessons from a Base of the Pyramid cluster

Although research on industry clusters has made many valuable contributions, a dearth of empirical evidence and theoretical reflection about the characteristics of Base of the Pyramid (BOP) clusters has persisted. Consequently, the literature still lacks a framework that incorporates the context, challenges, and dynamics encountered in such clusters. Drawing from clusters, capability accumulation, and innovation literatures, we develop a theoretical framework that provides a more fine-grained understanding of the dynamics encountered in BOP clusters, the role of support organizations, the importance of capabilities accumulation in firms, and the challenges associated with technology development and diffusion within such settings. We use case study research method conducted in a traditional granite-mining cluster in Brazil, based on 154 interviews with key informants between 1999 and 2011. Our findings suggest that BOP clusters present different dynamics when compared to clusters elsewhere, because of the existence of idiosyncrasies such as additional barriers to technology diffusion, especially when coupled with a lack of coordination and misaligned policy approaches. We contribute to the literature by arguing that the process of technology diffusion in BOP clusters is hindered by these barriers, and that technology development without wide diffusion within BOP clusters can become a source of social exclusion and wealth concentration. Moreover, in large emerging economies, global pipelines are not necessarily the only path for BOP clusters to achieve competitive advantage and sustainable growth, as suggested in the clusters literature.

Combining Knowledge from Different Sources, Channels and Geographical Scales

The aim of this article is to examine conceptually and empirically how innovative firms combine knowledge (1) provided by different sources, (2) accessed at different spatial scales and (3) acquired through different channels. We add to the conceptual debate by contrasting and synthesising the perspectives offered on these issues by four key concepts, namely the local buzz and global pipelines argument, the knowledge-base approach, the notions of Science–Technology–Innovation and Doing–Using–Interacting modes of innovation as well as the regional innovation systems concept. The empirical part of the article contains an analysis of knowledge-sourcing activities employed by 181 firms belonging to the Austrian automotive supplier industry. Our findings reveal that it is, indeed, combinations of knowledge sourced from different partners located at different spatial scales and acquired through different channels that are relevant. However, it is particular combinations that dominate while others are negligible. Austrian automotive supplier firms combine knowledge provided by customers with knowledge inputs from a variety of other sources. Most of the combinations involve the European or global levels combined with the regional and/or national level. Finally, firms combine spillovers with a variety of other channels to acquire innovation-relevant knowledge.

Are global pipelines really fundamental for cluster innovation and growth? Lessons from Brazil

Although research on industry clusters has made many valuable contributions, a dearth of empirical evidence and theoretical reflection on the characteristics of Base of the Pyramid (BOP) clusters has persisted. Consequently, the literature still lacks a framework that incorporates the context, challenges, and dynamics encountered in such clusters. Drawing from cluster, capability accumulation, and innovation literatures, we develop a theoretical framework that provides a more fine-grained understanding of the dynamics encountered in BOP clusters, the role of support organizations, the accumulation of capabilities in firms, and the challenges associated with technology development and diffusion within such settings. We use case-study research conducted in a traditional granite-mining cluster in Brazil, based on 154 interviews with key informants between 1999 and 2011. Our findings suggest that BOP clusters present a different dynamic when compared to clusters elsewhere, because of the existence of idiosyncrasies such as additional barriers to technology diffusion, especially when coupled with a lack of coordination and misaligned policy approaches. We contribute to the literature by arguing that the process of technology diffusion in BOP clusters is hindered by these idiosyncrasies, and that technology development without wide diffusion within a BOP cluster can become a source of social exclusion and wealth concentration. Moreover, in large emerging economies, global pipelines are not necessarily the only path for BOP clusters to achieve competitive advantage and sustainable growth, as suggested in the cluster literature.

Tncs' Technology Linkages with Domestic Firms: An Investigation of the Ict Industry in Suzhou, China

On the basis of a comprehensive survey in the information and communication technology industry in China's Suzhou municipality, we examine the determinants of the technology linkages that transnational corporations (TNCs) make with domestic firms. We found that TNCs' domestic supply and client linkages and their decentralization of decision making had a significant and positive effect on technological interactions between domestic firms and TNCs. However, such linkages were constrained by the technology gap between TNCs and domestic firms and they are focused on new product developments for the domestic Chinese market. The results highlight the challenges that domestic Chinese firms face in establishing ‘global pipelines’ of knowledge exchange. The implications of the findings on technology and foreign direct investment policies in China are also assessed, and we argue that China has potential to pave a new way of technology development by taking advantage of its indigenous capacity and sizable domestic market.

When Do Global Pipelines Enhance the Diffusion of Knowledge in Clusters?

abstractRecent studies have stressed the role played by global pipelines in fostering the growth of clusters and innovativeness. In this article, we develop a formal model to investigate when global pipelines contribute to an increase in local knowledge, depending on various characteristics of clusters such as size, knowledge endowment, and the ease of transmission of internal knowledge. This model is an extension of C owan and J onard’s () model in which we introduce the concept of cluster and a role for spatial proximity in the diffusion of knowledge. Our results reveal that there is a natural tendency of actors within global pipelines to act as external stars, rather than gatekeepers of knowledge. Global pipelines are beneficial for the accumulation of knowledge only if the cluster is either characterized by a high-quality local buzz or is small and weakly endowed in terms of knowledge.

Geographies of Open Source Biotechnology Innovation

Virtual communication forms play an increasingly important role for innovation and knowledge creation to individuals and to public and private organizations such as research centers, universities, and firms. Whereas biotech R&D cooperation was characteristically organized in a highly specialized cluster based largely on local face-to-face communications and strategic temporary linkages to other agglomerations, this archetypal configuration may undergo changes due to the emerging applicability of open innovation models such as ‘open source biotechnology’ or the advanced integration of physicians and patients into therapy development processes. An in-depth case study of an ‘Open Source Pharma’ network portrays how innovation and knowledge integration mechanisms are put into practice through ´permanence` in virtual space. In this newly created environment a number of geographical patterns are inverted: ´local buzz` turns into ´virtual global buzz`; global pipelines transform to local pipelines. However, institutionalized norms of the virtual network illustrate noteworthy similarities with ´localized capabilities` of regional agglomerations.

Transnational entrepreneurs, global pipelines and shifting production patterns. The example of the Palanpuris in the diamond sector

Building on the buzz-and-pipelines model of regional clusters, the paper shows that transnational entrepreneurs play an important role in the construction of external cluster relations and hence influence both the dynamics of regional clusters and global production settings. Unlike most studies on the economic implications of transnational migrants, the paper deals with a labor intensive manufacturing sector. In detail, diamond dealers from the Indian city of Palanpur will be conceptualized as transnational entrepreneurs who, in the past, were able to cover certain locations of the diamond value added chain with family members. The global relations set up by these families at the same time formed business networks allowing for an intense global exchange of knowledge and artifacts (diamonds). In the long run, these patterns implied a change of the overall production structures: in Antwerp, a traditional diamond trading and cutting center, the Indian dealers developed to strong competitors in the smaller stones segment and as such contributed to the fading away of the historically grown industrial base. In addition, the institutional support structures were partly dismantled. On the other hand, in India, a new cluster in diamond cutting emerged. The findings suggest that transnational entrepreneurs can contribute to a weakening of traditional cluster structures and therefore call for a more differentiated view as evoked by the one-sided focus of studies on returnee migrants in the high-tech sector.

Collaboration in Local Economic Development: The Case of Toledo

Many American communities place a high priority on retaining and attracting innovative industries. However, in most American metropolitan areas, the responsibility for local economic development is fragmented along jurisdictional and institutional lines. The result of this fragmentation is that local economic development is often chaotic with no one individual, agency, or jurisdiction in control, which may inhibit the effectiveness of local economic development efforts. To address these challenges and more effectively utilize resources, there has been greater emphasis recently on regional collaboration in local economic development. The purpose of this paper is to measure the extent of collaboration among local economic development professionals in the Toledo, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area and to identify the extent to which these interactions constitute a social network. We believe that the existence of a strong social network among economic development professionals is critical to overcome some of the negative effects of jurisdictional and institutional fragmentation. While there is a core network of relatively dense collaboration in northwest Ohio, that network does not span the entire metropolitan area. A high level of local interactions occurs, but there are few “global pipelines” outside the region. A potential challenge for economic development in the region is to avoid “lock in”, which will make it more difficult to attract innovative industries or diversify the economy in order to decrease the traditional dependence on the auto industry.

The paradox of clusters in high-tech industries: unfolding the interactions black box

This paper analyses a fundamental gap research in high-tech clusters surveying literature in a critical perspective. The paper criticises the taken-for-granted assumption that knowledge spillovers (KS), as un-traded interactions, are unique assets conveying flows of knowledge in clusters, arguing the importance of traded interactions based on market transaction conditions which also occur in clusters, specially in the high-tech ones. In addition, the paper explores how a co-located firm gains access to the cluster knowledge to expand their repository or resources in the case of high-tech clusters, in which the global pipelines are prominent. In doing so, the paper posit an unanswered paradox in the case of high-tech clusters: which type of interactions occurs in clusters when there is a manifested lack of local social networks? Results suggest that formal and traded commercial partnerships are also assets available in clusters, beyond the traditionally claimed KS. In addition, the global circuits of knowledge are crucial for co-located firms in high-tech clusters. The paper presents implications for the academia and the policymakers.

Between close and distanced links: Firm internationalization in a subsea cluster in Western Norway

Karlsen, A. & Nordhus, M. 2011. Between close and distanced links: Firm internationalization in a subsea cluster in Western Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography Vol. 65, 202–211. ISSN 0029-1951. The cluster concept has attracted attention from scholars and become increasingly popular in regional politics, as exemplified by The Norwegian Centres of Expertise programme. External linkages of cluster firms have become a concern inspired by the notions ‘local buzz’ and ‘global pipelines’. Viable clusters are dependent on the quality of both internal industrial environment and external linkages. The article focuses on internationalization of SMEs from a cluster perspective and discusses how cluster firms take advantage of different dimensions of proximity in their internationalization endeavours. By applying the industrial network approach, firms’ strategies and positions at different stages of internationalization are integrated in the analysis. The cases are four SMEs located in a ‘subsea cluster’ close to Bergen, Norway. Data were collected through interviews with top managers and observations during cluster-related meetings. The cases differ with regard to size and international experiences. Firms that are highly internationalized rely on cognitive or organizational proximity when they internationalize further. Such firms provide opportunities for other cluster firms. In contrast, less internationalized firms rely on social and institutional types of proximity. As they collaborate with larger and more experienced cluster firms they can skip some of the resource-demanding steps in the internationalizing process.

Feltalálói kapcsolatok szerepe a high-tech szektorban. Sokféleség és specializáció a hálózatok tükrében

Ebben a cikkben regionális szabadalmi feltalálói hálózatok kapcsolatainak segítségével elemezzük a sokféleség és a specializáció szerepét három európai ország high-tech szektoraiban. A vizsgált esetekben mind a specializáción alapuló helyi, mind pedig a sokszínűségre épülő városi gazdasági rendszerek megfigyelhetők. Kimutatható, hogy a specializáció erős külső kapcsolatrendszerrel, míg a sokféleség intenzív belső kapcsolati struktúrával társul a vizsgált esetekben. A szabadalmi tevékenység azonban a high-tech ágazat egészében (és annak néhány szektorában) a belső és külső kapcsolatok egy optimális aránya mellett mutatkozik a legintenzívebbnek, amely optimális arány erős belső kapcsolati orientáltságot feltételez.

Local or Digital Buzz, Global or National Pipelines: Patterns of Knowledge Sourcing in Intelligent Machinery and Digital Content Services in Finland

In regional innovation systems (RIS), there is a need to identify the knowledge bases that firms draw upon and differentiate innovation policies accordingly. From this premise, the main aim of this paper is to compare two Finnish industries, intelligent machinery and digital content services, that draw upon different kinds of knowledge bases. The three main research questions discussed here are as follows: (a) do knowledge sources of the firms representing two different industries with two different knowledge bases differ from each other, and how; (b) how do the knowledge sources differ between different types of RIS and (c) what kind of extra-regional pipelines do the three different cases have? The RIS under scrutiny represent fragmented metropolitan (Helsinki metropolitan area), old industrial (Tampere region) and organizationally thin (South Ostrobothnia) RIS.

Network configurations and R&D activities of the ICT industry in Suzhou municipality, China

This paper analyzes the network structure and R&D activities of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry in Suzhou municipality, known previously for its local state-directed Sunan model of development. Suzhou, however, has been undergoing dramatic restructuring to remake itself into a globalizing production center. We highlight the significance of the Chinese state and local/regional assets in shaping the trajectories of globalization and regional development, and the increasing importance of domestic markets and regional clusters/agglomeration for foreign ventures. We have found that Suzhou’s development path, heavily dependent on external forces, has made Suzhou a TNC (transnational corporation) satellite district. We also find that the ICT industry in Suzhou has a dual-structure, segmented between foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and domestic firms. TNCs tend to network among themselves and their interfirm networks are increasingly domestic and regionally embedded in the Yangtze River Delta, while the linkages between TNCs and local firms are weak. We argue that there is a series of technological, structural, spatial, and institutional “mismatches” that limits the establishment of “global pipelines” of knowledge exchange. We hold that the nature of global–local networks is contingent upon regional endogenous capacities and the specific ways in which global capital interacts with local institutions. Therefore, perspectives on TNCs’ local embeddedness must be positioned in their regional/external networks. We also analyze the constraints placed on Suzhou’s development into an innovative city and promote the integration of global and local/regional assets through development of indigenous capacities.

When Local Interaction Does Not Suffice: Sources of Firm Innovation in Urban Norway

The geographical sources of innovation of firms have been hotly debated. While the traditional view is that physical proximity within city-regions is key for the innovative capacity of firms, the literature on ‘global pipelines’ has been stressing the importance of establishing communication channels to the outside world. This paper uses a specifically tailored survey of the level of innovation of 1604 firms of more than ten employees located in the five largest Norwegian city-regions (Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, and Kristiansand) in order to determine (a) the geographical dimension of the sources of innovation, and (b) the factors behind the propensity to innovate in Norwegian firms. The results stress that, while interaction with a multitude of partners within Norwegian city-regions or with other national partners has a negligible effect on firm innovation, those firms with a greater diversity of international partners tend to innovate more and introduce more radical innovations. The results also highlight that the roots of this greater innovative capacity lie in a combination of firm (size of firms, share of foreign ownership, and sector) and cultural (the level of open-mindedness of managers) characteristics.