Global knowledge sourcing in thick and diversified RIS: case studies in Oslo, Malmø and Beijing

ABSTRACT

There is an increased need of understanding organizational and institutional underpinnings of firms’ global knowledge search. This paper addresses thick and diversified RIS in two different territorial contexts and explores firms’ use of physical and virtual space in their search of innovation relevant knowledge. Through interviews with ICT and new media SMEs from Scandinavia (Oslo, Malmö) and Beijing, findings show that low-cost and virtual search space is very important for innovation; furthermore, regional, global and virtual space co-evolve and mutually reinforce each other. Global search strategies differ between the two contexts, emphasizing the importance of a regional institutional-organizational framing supporting trust, collaboration and motivation for global search. In order to reap the benefits of the regional-global-virtual dynamics, being thick and diversified is not enough to have global reach and attractiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Global knowledge sourcing
• physical and virtual space
• institutional settings
• ICT and new media industry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 BBC news. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53686390

Additional information

Funding

This research has been generously supported by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, [grant number 2012.0194]. (Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse).