This paper addresses the much-neglected issue of how individuals ’ networks of contacts influence the internationalisation of firms. A number of brief case vignettes including both large and small companies are provided to illustrate how businessmen use relations from the past, relationship sediments, as enablers and driving forces in internationalisation. Based on the impressions from these cases a framework for mapping individual networks is developed, consisting of five main elements, categories of contacts, importance of the relationship, richness, availability and reach. It is argued that this framework might offer one way of identifying possibilities for international business, the opportunity networks of the firm.

The theoretical perspective of “localised learning ” has been accused of not only being “fuzzy”, but also of being incapable of providing policy prescriptions. This paper sets out to discover whether deducting policy advice from the localised learning literature does in fact pose a problem, and if so, to contribute to its solution. The paper reviews recent localised learning literature and finds its policy advice scarce indeed. The paper does not adopt the view, however, that the localised learning perspective per se is incapable of providing policy advice. On the contrary, the paper attempts a first step in this direction, as it deducts from the literature some general principles for formulating a localised learning policy, and points towards some policy means at hand for adhering to these principles. Central issues in need to be addressed when designing and implementing such a policy are also treated. It is concluded that while the localised learning perspective is still in an early stage, it is well suited to inspire a much-needed new policy agenda for regional development. KEYWORDS:

The resource-based approach to strategy, which reaches back to the contributions of Penrose, Selznick and Chandler, has gradually become the dominant perspective in strategy (content) research, arguably because it combines realism with relative rigour. The present paper presents the main themes of the contemporary version of the resource-based perspective (Wernerfelt, Rumelt, Barney....) and diagnoses a number of problems, such as the lack of a clear terminology, unclarity as to what really is the unit of analysis, the role of the environment, and the seemingly different versions that exist of the perspective. The perhaps deepest problem, however, is the lack of theorizing with respect to the creation of new resources, which tends to give the perspective a retrospective character and makes its application to managerial practice. It is suggested that resource-based scholars may draw upon work relating to real options, complementarities and organizational learning if they wish to remedy this deficiency.

We link up with the recent literature on the differentiated MNC with its stress on intra-MNC knowledge flows. However, rather than focusing on the characteristics of knowledge as determinants of knowledge transfer within MNCs, we focus instead on levels of knowledge in subsidiaries, the sources of transferable subsidiary knowledge, and on the organizational means and conditions that realize knowledge transfer as the relevant determinants. We find largely positive support for the relevant hypotheses which are tested on a unique dataset on knowledge development in subsidiary firms (the Centre of Excellence-project). Conference theme: Knowledge creation and transfer in inter-organizational It is now commonly accepted that knowledge ranks first in the hierarchy of strategically relevant resources (e.g., Nonaka and Takeuchi 1995; Grant 1996), in fact, it is so widely accepted “ … as to have become almost axiomatic ” (Gupta and

findings from in-depth case studies

In his seminal article Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness Granovetter argued that economic action is embedded in social relations and structures that affect its functioning, and that economic action should be analyzed as such. In theories of the business firm the idea that firms are socially embedded is widely acknowledged, but social context is typically understood as an exogenous force. When embeddedness is actually accounted for in theories of the business firm it is mostly as independent variable highlighting the structural aspects of embeddedness at the expense of more relational aspects. This short paper traces the origin and branching of embeddedness in business studies. It asserts that the concept of embeddedness is recurrently used as a concept symbol to reclassify aspects of social context, but not in a way that gives credit to the endogeneity of social context to the actions of the business firm. Finally, it is suggested that the notions of evolution and mutualism are fruitful for understanding how and why firms are embedded in different ways and to different degrees. Key words Embeddedness; economic activities; a theory of action; social structure; evolutionary economics; business studies; economic relationships; information; learning;

The arguably dominant approaches to the study of interfirm relations are the capabilities and organizational economics perspectives. This paper discusses their merits and weaknesses, concentrating on the capabilities perspective, which is argued to rest on rather weak foundations, particularly as a theory of economic organization (including interfirm relations). However, it is suggested that both perspectives may be seen as part of an overarching bargaining approach to economic organization (yet to be developed). Both perspectives have identified impediments to efficient bargaining.

This paper develops a conceptual framework within which the fundamental resource dynamics of an economy may be investigated. The framework has heterogeneous firms at its center, and the dynamics governing their competitive, evolutionary and entrepreneurial interactions are made the object of analysis. This approach is motivated by the desire to penetrate to the resource dynamics of a capitalist economy, and to bring out the significance that interfirm resource networks play in the way that economies adapt and respond to novel situations. The management of these relational assets- resources, routines and interfirm relations- is seen as a critical issue in the success of individual firms and of whole economies. The paper embarks on this project through the synthesis of four current business perspectives, in the belief that rapid changes in the global economy call for renewed efforts towards theoretical integration. The four perspectives are the dynamic capabilities perspective on the firm (incorporating the resource-based view) as developed in the strategic management literature; the markets-as-networks view, as developed in the industrial marketing and purchasing literature; the evolutionary economic view, as developed by Nelson and Winter; and the entrepreneurial discovery view, as developed by Schumpeter and the Austrian school. It is contended that a synthesis of these perspectives will reinforce each, and lead to novel insights.

Despite the acquired popularity, the concept of collective learning (CL) remains rather unspecified theoretically as well as poorly investigated empirically. On the one hand, the theorisation of processes of learning in systems larger than the individual poses some conceptual difficulties that reside chiefly in the connection between logical levels (the individual, the organisation, the system). On the other hand, applied work has looked at indicators that proxy channels and performance but has neglected the process by which learning occurs. The definition of CL adopted here is that of a “co-ordinated change of competencies”, a structural change allowing for an adaptation of the economy to its context by the acquisition of new knowledge. Accordingly, the concept of CL is seen here as both the process of improving productive capabilities and co-ordination schemes among actors. The focus is therefore how individual competencies are transformed into a co-ordinated system of division of labour. The aim is to single out and describe which collective dynamics favour (or inhibit) the development processes of local economic systems. We introduce a theoretical framework

In recent years, increasing academic and policy attention has been devoted to the competitiveness of regions and nations, and knowledge has been regarded as a main driver for regions to strive to compete in global economies. The Managing and Infusing Research and Development (MIRIAD) project funded by FP6 has sought to establish tools by which SMEs are able to identify and measure their knowledge assets through developing a range of benchmarking and scorecard instruments tailored to the regions in which they operate. The project examined the current and potential knowledge capability of SMEs across four regions in Europe and their scope for improving their competitiveness with a focus on the development of knowledge transfer. It also identified the knowledge creating institutions that were involved in establishing knowledge transfer platforms. The scorecards addressed the supply and demand-side barriers associated with R&D transfer, absorption, and investment, meaning that both the demand and supply of knowledge are both incorporated into the analysis. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate the application of the transparent scorecard methodology across four regions in Europe which enabled us to compare findings and derive policy recommendations tailored to the regional specifics as well as aiming to enhance the regional R&D. This methodology has proved to be of a particular benefit to the three Balkan regions where regional policymaking, both in terms of process and content, is a relatively new and novel area of intervention.