Informal Linkages Research Articles

Formal and informal external linkages and firms’ innovative strategies. A cross-country comparison

Firms increasingly rely upon external actors for their innovation process. Interaction with these actors may occur formally (i.e. through a collaboration agreement) or informally (i.e. external actors acts as sources of information). We analyze the reasons why firms consider it to be important to develop formal and informal external linkages in the innovation process by looking at the role played by firms’ innovative strategies and by taking into account the possibility that a complementarity or substitutive relationship might exist between formal and informal linkages. Data are from the Third Community Innovation Survey (CIS 3), where we have access to firm level micro-data from Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and the UK.

The Role of Amateur Football in Circular Migration Systems in South Africa

This article explores the significance of amateur football for the changing patterns of circular migration in post-Apartheid South Africa. Even after the end of Apartheid, the abolishment of the migrant labour system has not brought a decline of circular migration. The state-institutionalised system has merely been replaced by an informal system of translocal livelihood organisation. The new system fundamentally relies on social networks and complex rural-urban linkages. Mobile ways of life have evolved that can be classified as neither rural nor urban. Looking into these informal linkages can contribute to explaining the persistence of spatial and social disparities in “New South Africa”. This paper centres on an empirical, bi-local case study that traces the genesis of the socio-spatial linkages between a village in former Transkei and an informal settlement in Cape Town. The focus is on the relevance of football for the emergence and stabilisation of translocal network structures.

Converting Academic Expertize into Industrial Innovation: University-based Research at Solvay and Gevaert, 1900–1970

The question this article seeks to address relates to the strategies deployed by the chemical firms Solvay & Co. and Gevaert N.V.—two multinationals operating in a highly innovative sector and depending on Belgium's national system of innovation—by taking advantage from the research capabilities located in the surrounding academic landscape. The two companies adopted different methods to capture the knowledge produced in university laboratories, which corresponded best to the kind of research they wished to explore. It will be argued that, instead of conforming to any previous blueprint for linear innovation, industrialists and academics have sought to overcome their conflicting interests and cultural divergence by bringing out mutual opportunities that eventually led to unexpected forms of utilitarian cooperation. In the long run, informal linkages and social networks helped shaping the patterns of increasingly coordinated and elaborated procedures of innovation.

Converting Academic Expertize into Industrial Innovation: University-based Research at Solvay and Gevaert, 1900–1970

The question this article seeks to address relates to the strategies deployed by the chemical firms Solvay & Co. and Gevaert N.V.—two multinationals operating in a highly innovative sector and depending on Belgium's national system of innovation—by taking advantage from the research capabilities located in the surrounding academic landscape. The two companies adopted different methods to capture the knowledge produced in university laboratories, which corresponded best to the kind of research they wished to explore. It will be argued that, instead of conforming to any previous blueprint for linear innovation, industrialists and academics have sought to overcome their conflicting interests and cultural divergence by bringing out mutual opportunities that eventually led to unexpected forms of utilitarian cooperation. In the long run, informal linkages and social networks helped shaping the patterns of increasingly coordinated and elaborated procedures of innovation.

Small-Scale Enterprise Livelihoods and Social Capital in Eastern Indonesia: Ethnic Embeddedness and Exclusion*

This article explores the importance of specific forms of social capital for small-scale enterprises while highlighting that such analyses must incorporate local sociocultural complexities. In Eastern Indonesia, small-scale entrepreneurs in Makassar city rely heavily on informal networks, linkages, and trust relationships for their livelihoods. This dependence reflects different social capital forms, embedded in local ethnic and social relations that are inclusionary for some, yet exclusionary for others. Findings show that although bonding social capital is prevalent, albeit with diverse implications, bridging social capital is less so, and linking social capital is virtually absent. A lack of the latter, combined with widespread corruption in the city, hinders livelihood progress for many local entrepreneurs. *Many thanks to the small-scale entrepreneurs in Makassar who took the time to talk to me about their work. I am also grateful to Hasbi for his field work assistance, Pak Ahmad Syamsuddin Suryana (Pusat Pengembangan Usaha Kecil Kawasan Timur Indonesia) and Pak Nurman Said (State Institute of Islamic Studies) for their enthusiastic support in Makassar, and Stephanie Coen and Laura Schoenberger for their research assistance in Canada. Thanks also to Wendy Allen, Indonesia Social Equity Project, McGill University, and the three referees for their useful comments.

Europeanization and the Sub-National Level: Changing Patterns of Governance in Northern Ireland

Like all sub-national units of the European Union (EU), Northern Ireland is subject to the ‘Europeanizing’ influences of the EU policy process. This influence became more profound and emphatic in the period after 1999 when powers were devolved to new sub-national political institutions. New institutional structures, evolving formal and informal linkages and changed policy mechanisms, have been subtly influenced by a process of Europeanization. The process, however, has been constrained by the resilience of the community political divide and the sensitivity that surrounds identity in Northern Ireland. The impact of the Europeanization process has not, therefore, diminished the distinctiveness of the Northern Ireland sub-national unit nor is it resulting in any significant degree of sub-national homogenization with the EU.

Learning Through Inter-Organisational Interactions: Public Research Institutes in the Nigerian Biopharmaceutical System of Innovation

Using field-level data collected in Nigeria in 2003–04, this paper examines the possibilities for learning through inter-organisational interactions in biotechnological systems of innovation, using public research institutes as an example. The paper considers interactions to be all forms of formal and informal linkages and contacts between various agents in the system of innovation, such as firms, universities, traditional medicine practitioners, hospitals and other external agencies. Using results obtained in the survey and the experiences of other countries that have succeeded in developing biotechnological capacity, critical interactions and scope for policy interventions are discussed. En utilisant des donnees de terrain collectees au Nigeria en 2003-2004, cet article examine les possibilites d'apprentissage a travers les interactions organisationnelles dans les systemes d'innovations biotechnologiques, en s'appuyant sur l'exemple d'instituts de recherche publics. Il considere que les interactions cor...

Access to treatment-related and support services in methadone treatment programs

This study examines whether the mechanism through which a methadone maintenance treatment site offers seven treatment-related and support services is related to whether a patient receives such services. Mechanisms include the provision of services on-site, at another program site, or through formal or informal linkage arrangements. Analysis was conducted on a nationally representative sample of methadone treatment sites. Providing services on-site was found to be positively related to patient access to a majority of services, whereas, in general, offering services at another program site or through formal or informal linkages was not found to be effective. Not-for-profit or public ownership of treatment sites was also found to be positively related to patient access.

BROKERS' ROLES IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN TEAMS: EXPERTISE, INFLUENCE AND SCHEMA CONFLICTS.

This paper examined the roles that brokers play in teams, particularly with respect to the providing expertise and conflict handling behavior. Based on the data from a virtual database design team working in a major U.S. defense contracting organization, we found that brokers are seen as contributing more expertise to the team than other team members; however, expertise ratings varied by type of brokerage with gatekeepers and coordinators seen as having greater expertise than consultants and representatives. Our results also indicate a key role for brokers as self-appointed conflict handlers in teams. Contrary to previous research, our results suggest brokers may play a facilitative, rather than a self-interested role in organizations. We consider the implications of our findings for team development, especially for virtual teams where more informal linkages among members are impossible, and propose further research to explore possible tensions between pro-social and self-interested behavior among brokers.

What Determines the Scope of the Firm Over Time? A Focus on Institutional Relatedness

“What determines the scope of the firm?” is one of the most fundamental questions in strategic management. We argue that, in addition to product relatedness, a focus on institutional relatedness—defined as an organization's informal linkages with dominant institutions that confer resources and legitimacy—helps answer this question. We address this question both longitudinally (firms in developed and emerging economies over time) and cross-sectionally (developed versus emerging economies), thus contributing to an institution-based theory of corporate diversification.

Planned change at The Center on Philanthropy: The CLER model

AbstractThis article examines the creation of The Center on Philanthropy as an example of organizational change using the Configurational, Linkages, Environments, Resources (CLER) Model. In a case study, the CLER Model is used as a tool for analyzing planned change. Applying the model aided the rapid identification of the environment as favorable and able to provide necessary support. CLER determined that linkages were key in this change, due to the numerous formal and informal linkages that were positive and favorable toward the change. The importance of resources for implementing this change also became apparent in the analysis.

Voluntary associations, social capital, and civil society in comparative perspective: South Korea and Sweden

People organize and participate in voluntary associations since voluntary associations provide social capital, such as norms of reciprocity, citizenship, social trust, and networks of social relations. Comparative analysis of voluntary associations in South Korea and Sweden reveals, first, that voluntary associations have played an important role in providing services, enhancing expressive functions, and in bringing a new sense of participatory democracy in Korea as well as in Sweden. Second, the civil society sector has been a major actor in governance in Korea and Sweden. The growth of voluntary associations in Korea reflects their increasing role and capacity, as has been in Sweden. Third, however, the character and strength of civil society are different in Korea and Sweden, because the ways in which voluntary associations are structured are different and the interests they provide vary across societies. Most striking difference is that Swedish civil society has been mainly constituted by formal primary economic associations, while Korean civil society has been constituted by informal affective linkage groups. Fourth, the organizing capacity of the voluntary sector can differentiate Korean civil society from the Nordic civil society more clearly. Finally, the Korean civil society need more active participation of citizens as members or volunteers in order to become an entity of organized civil society to create and enhance social capital.

Personal networks and IT innovation within the Esprit Programme: Some evidence from the UK

SummaryThe European Strategic Programme for Research in Information Technologies (Esprit) was created back in 1983 as a defensive response to the US and Japanese lead in information technologies (IT). Esprit was driven by the belief that intra-EU collaboration is an effective means of enhancing the competitiveness of the European IT industry. Esprit endured in various forms for almost two decades, always focusing on European collaboration for European innovation and competitiveness in IT This paper investigates the personal networks of UK main contractors in Esprit. The empirical evidence is based on the comparative evaluation of 10 successful Esprit projects with UK main contractors. The findings show that the world of IT innovation is borderless and that UK firms accommodated a broad range of informal external linkages valuable for IT innovation with counterparts in the US, despite the Euro-centric policy of Brussels.

Informal and Formal Networking among Elite Mexican Capitalists and Politicians

AbstractThis essay explores the importance of formal and informal network linkages among Mexico's leading capitalists and politicians from 1970 through 2000. It demonstrates that scholars have been misled in their conclusions about capitalist-politician connections because they have relied on shared, formal positions, rather than on numerous other means of contact. This essay also demonstrates the significant influence exerted by elite mentors, who often provide a bridge between other elites. It suggests that in most countries, a reliance on organizations as a means of measuring networking contacts has led to equally misleading conclusions. Finally, within specific leadership groups, elites share close ties with each other, ties that have impacted on policy issues and ideology.

The school-linked health center: a promising model of community-based care for adolescents

Purpose: To examine the nature of the linkages between school-linked health centers (SLHCs) and schools; the centers’ services, staffing, financing, and other operational details; and the advantages of this model of care. Method: Twenty-one SLHCs completed a written survey on a range of operational issues, including types of services provided, staffing patterns, budgets, and populations served in 1995. The researchers conducted on-site interviews with six centers and telephone interviews with 14 centers to obtain more detailed information. Results: Although each SLHC has a unique program design, the study identified characteristics common to all sites. In general, SLHCs provide comprehensive medical, reproductive health, mental health, and health education services designed for adolescents. Staffed with a minimum of an administrator, a primary care provider, a nurse, and an administrative assistant, SLHCs serve students from more than one school as well as out-of-school youth. SLHCs develop formal and/or informal linkages with schools to improve outreach and follow-up services. Conclusions: The report describes a community-based model of care that is designed to provide affordable, age-appropriate, confidential, convenient care to adolescents, a population that traditionally has been very hard to reach. The SLHC’s ability to provide reproductive health care makes it an attractive option for communities trying to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents. To firmly conclude that the SLHC is an effective model for improving adolescent access to services, more research is needed on adolescents’ use and nonuse of SLHCs and other models of care; the cost of SLHCs compared to other models of care; and how SLHCs can sustain themselves financially, particularly in a managed care environment.

University Spin-offs in the Commercialization of Research

The desire to exploit intellectual property (IP) in the public sector research base has been an ongoing concern of those within as well as outside government. In this paper, the author compares the regional success of UK university spin-off firms (USOs) in managing the exploitation of IP through both informal and formal linkages with universities. The central finding is that USOs do not resolve problems endemic to the commercialization of publicly funded research.

Mental health services for rural elderly: innovative service strategies.

This paper reviews issues in planning and delivering mental health services to rural dwelling elderly. First, comparative data on the prevalence of mental illness among rural elderly, and the availability and accessibility of mental health services in rural areas are presented to provide a basis for subsequent discussion. Next, several strategies for improving the development and delivery of geriatric mental health services to rural areas are discussed. These include: increasing the number and quality of rural mental health providers; adapting or developing diagnostic techniques to improve case identification among rural elderly; providing culturally sensitive mental health services; strengthening informal and formal care linkages in rural communities; developing innovative service delivery models building upon the strengths of rural settings; and emphasizing fluidity as well as continuity in treatment models.

Regionalism in Russia: The rise and fall of Siberian agreement

PRESIDENT BORIS EL'TSIN'S FORCED DISSOLUTION of the Russian parliament in October 1993 and his securing of a narrow popular mandate for a new presidential constitution in December placed a temporary stop to the political reconfiguration of the Russian state which has been under way since the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. The growth of regional power vis-a-vis the centralised state is, however, a global phenomenon that is being driven by the revolution in information technology, the structure of capitalism and business methods. Increasingly the centralised governments of nation-states are perceived as dysfunctional institutional frameworks for political, economic and social organisation as they overlook significant community bonds and synergistic networks which are cross-national and regional in orientation. Consequently, the late 20th century has seen the emergence of the 'region-state'.1 City-regional meso- (intermediate) level governments, of which Siberian Agreement has been a prototype for Russia, have become key agencies of political organisation in the capitalist democracies and form a constellation of economic linkages with transnational companies in the pursuit of 'competitive advantage'.2 If Russia becomes further integrated with democratic capitalism it will be drawn further down the road of economic globalisation and, inevitably, if it performs as a rational actor it will conform to the rising socioeconomic trend within the developed capitalist worldregionalisation. The rise of Russian regionalism in recent years is a political problem that can be attributed in part to the increasing insecurity of regional elites under the combined pressures of the disintegration of the country, the economy, the command-administrative system and its hub, the Communist Party. The party was the institutional lynchpin of the system: 'the sole centripetal force in a society of increasingly powerful centrifugal forces'.3 It maintained 'vertical' integration by accommodating regional elites, coopting them into the management of the system and coordinating their activities through its network of party committees. In this way the CPSU performed the instrumental political functions of expressing and channelling demands in Soviet society.4 With the demise of the party came the dissolution of party committees, including the key regional level and urban committees (obkomy and gorkomy), which together with the nomenklatura system of appointments constituted the framework on which the communist power monopoly rested. The evaporation of the power of the party in 1989-91 meant the disappearance of the official and informal linkages of coordination, the structure for incorporating regional representatives and the proce

The Promise: “Uncaptured” Peasantry, the State and Development in Bhutan

ABSTRACT This paper refutes Goran Hyden's conclusion that “economy of affection”, or various informal social and economic linkages, cannot play an important developmental role. This paper argues instead that when the state actively participates in and encourages various degrees of affective relationships, the human suffering caused by the destruction of the peasantry through the introduction of capitalism can be alleviated. As a case study, this paper assesses the development prospects of the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which was able to completely avoid foreign domination until the early-1960s due to its isolation. The paper concludes that the economy of affection can facilitate an improvement in the standard of living, while maintaining human equality and dignity, sustaining political participation, and retaining cultural integrity under specific circumstances.

Senior center linkages with community organizations.

This article examines the working relationships, or linkages, senior centers have with other organizations in the community, using a national sample of 246 centers. Referral activity is reported to be the most widespread form of linkage and involves an average of 10 organizations, and informal linkages are much more prevalent than formal ones. The nature of the linkage organization varies for different services, but public agencies (e.g., AAAs, recreation and parks departments) as well as private entities (e.g., doctors, hospitals) are involved in this process. Finally, multiple regression analysis reveals considerable variation in the correlates of the number of organizations with which senior centers work for different linkage types.