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Combining knowledge bases in transnational innovation - microfoundations and the geography of organization

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  • Strambach , Simone

    (Department of Geography, Philipps-University of Marburg)

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to contribute both conceptually and empirically to a deeper understanding of the territorial shaping of knowledge combination and its development dynamics underpinning innovation. The importance of combining and integrating knowledge bases from different sources, geographical scales and heterogeneous actors is increasingly recognized in innovation studies. Yet, the question of what limits or enables knowledge combinations in innovation processes and what generates relatedness among unrelated knowledge bases in time and space is not fully answered. Conceptually the paper suggests a more specific focus on microfoundations and temporality by taking into account the economics of organization in more detail. This appears a particularly promising approach, as the causal relations and mechanisms across and between aggregated levels such as firms, sectors, regions, or nations are not well understood. Empirically the paper explores the micro-dynamics of knowledge combination and its territorial shaping from a transnational perspective. German-Chinese innovation projects in sustainable construction are investigated by using the methodology of innovation biography. This method allows following the time-space path of innovation. It enables capturing knowledge interactions and their unfolding in multi-scalar and cross-sectoral ways. The results underline a very dynamic geography of organization and barriers for knowledge integration at the micro-level rooted in organizational and institutional path dependencies. The investigation in the interplay between more permanent and temporary organizational forms and its geography holds a large potential for further research to provide new insights into the spatiality of combining knowledge bases in innovation processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Strambach , Simone, 2015. "Combining knowledge bases in transnational innovation - microfoundations and the geography of organization," Papers in Innovation Studies 2015/10, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kujath, Hans Joachim & Pasternack, Peer & Radinger-Peer, Verena, 2020. "Governance-Formen des regionalen Wissenstransfers," Forschungsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Postlep, Rolf-Dieter & Blume, Lorenz & Hülz, Martina (ed.), Hochschulen und ihr Beitrag für eine nachhaltige Regionalentwicklung, volume 11, pages 76-118, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    knowledge dynamics; transnational innovation; microfoundations; economics of organization; innovation biography;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • L20 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - General
    • L84 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Personal, Professional, and Business Services
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

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