A Knowledge-Based View on Innovation in Regional Networks

This study examines how firms organize their product development collaborations, as well as what the spatial dimension of those collaboration efforts look like.First, an attempt is made to conceptualize innovation, collaboration, and space from a knowledge-based perspective.This theoretical study of the spatial dimension of interfirm collaboration is followed by a case study of the Knowledge Industry Clustering (KIC) project of Océ, a leading firm in the Dutch manufacturing industry.The empirical and theoretical outcomes are then considered in light of one another. The KIC project seems to have been structured around knowledge creation.The recognition of the importance of knowledge creation led Océ to appoint lead suppliers to run the various KIC clusters.In the clusters, too, knowledge creation was regarded as a key success factor.Second, the KIC project showed that companies were engaged in dependency relations even though their prior dealings were few.Apparently, traditional economic explanations do not adequately explain the impact of interfirm collaboration on knowledge creation.The outcomes of the project offer support to the thesis that proximity has a favorable impact on knowledge-creating efforts.Overall, the case study results are in agreement with the theoretical considerations of the knowledge-based perspective. (SAA)