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

Summary

The 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.

Key Words:

• informal networks
• IT innovation
• collaboration
• EU policy