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In order to learn more about sectoral differences of knowledge networking in a regional development context, we apply the knowledge base concept, distinguishing the analytical (science based) and synthetic (engineering based) knowledge base. We aim at comparing knowledge networking with the help of network analyses in two knowledge bases in Germany: the analytical knowledge base with the help of the biotechnology industry in the Aachen Technology Region and the synthetic knowledge base with the help of the automotive industry in Southwest Saxony. The paper concludes that there are some main differences found in the characteristics of knowledge networking between the two different knowledge bases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how workers in Germany's automotive industry developed power in the process of a transnational carve out - namely the carve-out of the rubber and plastics department of the German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG to the Chinese based Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd. in 2013. The worker's actions were successful because they used their production network knowledge and decided against a strategy of pure co-operative co-determination but implemented a strategy of resistance. They concentrated their resistance on the weak points within the value creation processes of the automotive production network. On the basis of this, the authors argue that production network knowledge can be used to develop collective power within organisations. The study is based on qualitative interviews with ZF observing participation of workers events and a press analyses on the particular acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable supply chain management requires suppliers to be evaluated against a wider set of criteria. Quality standards (ISO 9000) play a central role for evaluating suppliers' economic performance, e.g. in the automotive industry. Regarding sustainability, the implementation of environmental and social standards could play a similar role. But almost no data is available on their degree of implementation or their importance for supplier evaluation. The aim of this survey (conducted in autumn 2003) was to evaluate whether and to what degree environmental and social standards have been implemented in the German car industry. The survey yielded 111 usable questionnaires, equalling a response rate of 29%. The results of the survey show that environmental standards, particularly ISO 14001, are already widely used, while this is not the case for social standards. The social dimension of sustainability has been lacking in implementation so far. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]