Making Connections

Technological learning depends on steady flows of information for the creation of new ideas. The relationships that firms form with other firms and with other sources of knowledge enable them to remain competitive amid changing technologies and markets. The knowledge on which new technologies are based is both local and non local - even global. Local learning demands that firms be closely integrated with their local economic and social environment where relevant business-specific knowledge and institutional support are readily available. While local relationships are important, non-local connections also play a significant role in sustaining competitiveness. They permit the incorporation of new ideas, often still tacit and not widespread, into the local processes of technological learning. The relative importance of local vs. non local relations, unsettled in recent research, is a focus of this volume. The contributors, representing over a dozen countries, provide a more international and comprehensive picture of connections than has been available in previously published research.