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Geographies of Knowledge and Learning: The Example of Medical Technology

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  • Brita Hermelin
  • Margareta Dahlström
  • Lukas Smas

Abstract

This paper brings a geographical perspective to debates in research on knowledge and learning for the innovation of products and firms. The importance of understanding the development of “composite knowledge,” which should be understood as knowledge developed through the bridging of different knowledge fields, is stressed. The empirical focus of the study is medical technology. The arguments in this paper are based on a literature review, secondary data, and a “knowledge biography” case study of a firm located in Stockholm, Sweden. The discussion describes how knowledge networks may be multilocal, thus connecting partners in local, national, and international geographical settings. This paper shows that synergies and complementary relations between regional, network, and corporate spaces are focal points for the processes of knowledge dynamics. It also illustrates how “soft” factors in innovations (in addition to important and “hard” factors of technology and functionality improvements, for instance) are important. “Soft” factors include market, process and input innovations, and aesthetic expressions.

Suggested Citation

  • Brita Hermelin & Margareta Dahlström & Lukas Smas, 2014. "Geographies of Knowledge and Learning: The Example of Medical Technology," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 450-470, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:45:y:2014:i:3:p:450-470
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/grow.12054
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Grete Rusten & Ragnhild Overå, 2014. "Local and Global Geographies of Innovation: Structures, Processes, and Geographical Contexts from a Firm Perspective," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(3), pages 403-411, September.

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