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The purpose of this study is to examine the reported architectural approaches and governance mechanisms for digital business ecosystems (DBEs). A systematic literature review is employed, in which 92 relevant articles are selected for analysis. This study provides an overview of articles, reports the formal modeling notations, modeling viewpoints, and design patterns used for DBEs in the reviewed articles, discusses DBE governance mechanisms, and provides evidence of the alignment between DBE architecture and DBE governance.

CONTEXT: Digital technologies nowadays play a major role in innovation within the agri-food domain. The evolution of IT systems has currently arrived at a level that involves complex systems integration and business ecosystems in which many stakeholders in different roles are involved. A new paradigm for digital innovation is needed that copes with this increased complexity. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents an empirically informed framework for analysing and designing viable, sustainable digital innovation ecosystems in the agri-food domain. METHODS: The research is based on a series of European large-scale public-private innovation projects from 2011 to 2021 with a total budget of 73 M€. They involved hundreds of stakeholders that were developing a large number of digital solutions through which a digital innovation ecosystem for agri-food was formed. In a longitudinal study, a conceptual framework was used to analyse these projects and describe how the digital innovation ecosystem has developed. Lessons learnt are translated into a number of design principles and an organizational approach to foster digital innovation ecosystems in agri-food. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The conceptual framework consists of 6 key concepts: (i) innovation strategy, (ii) innovation organization, (iii) innovation network that contains (iv) the innovation process and (v) the innovation object and finally (vi) an innovation infrastructure. Along these 6 concepts, lessons learnt and in total 21 design principles are derived from analysing the projects forming a basis for the organizational framework. At the core of this framework is a lean multi-actor approach to trials and use case development interacting with a set of multidisciplinary activities: (i) developing a common technical collaboration infrastructure, (ii) identifying value streams with user engagement, (iii) engaging the right partners and stakeholders at the right time supported by strategic project planning and dynamic management. The most important conclusion is that effective, successful and quick use of appropriate IT in agri-food requires that actors should not be analysed in isolation from both their technological and business environment. Another consequence is that a ‘minimal viable ecosystem’ only emerges after considerable time, resources and ingenuity is invested and may require outside (government) intervention. SIGNIFICANCE: Results from this paper can be used both by public and private stakeholders to diagnose and improve digital innovation projects and develop viable, sustainable digital innovation ecosystems in agri-food.

The transition towards a circular economy within the construction industry continues to be a formidable challenge. One reason why the construction industry is not at the forefront of circularity is due to the complexity of ecosystem-level organizational forms. In the construction industry, the product-based organizational form characterizes an ecosystem structure with multilateral interdependencies among firms seems to be a more compatible approach towards circularity. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted into how the inter-organizational arrangements and interdependencies of actors within a product-based structure affect the orchestration and alignment between different firms during the implementation of new circular practices in the construction industry. Using an explanatory multi-grounded theory approach, this study investigates how product-based organizational forms affect partner alignment in construction ecosystems compared to project-based organizational forms during the implementation of new practices within the wider transition towards circularity. Based on a multiple-case study involving seven ecosystems, it is suggested that there is a positive connection between a construction ecosystem implementing a product-based approach and the extent of partner alignment being performed by the lead firms as well as a stronger iterative use of orchestration mechanisms to achieve partner alignment. The findings are relevant for both business ecosystems and sustainability scholars.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are pushed to introduce new technologies due to different requirements and changes in the business setting. The SMEs' transformation to exploit new technologies is challenging given their lack of resources and the complexity of technological transformation, which encompasses technology assimilation and business model innovation (BMI). Although studies recognize the complementarity of technology assimilation and BMI for benefiting from technology, the literature is fragmented, and the technological transformation phenomenon remains abstract, especially in the SMEs' context. To improve understanding of technological transformation in SMEs, a systematic literature review was performed on 165 peer-reviewed papers published from 1999 to 2022, building upon BMI and technology assimilation constructs. The descriptive analysis outlines the field's evolution in terms of research and technological trends. The content analysis shows that: most papers focus on factors; the literature falls short of providing theoretical conceptualization and guidelines for the technological transformation process; only a few studies are dedicated to assessing the outcomes of technological transformation in SMEs; and the papers suggest that SMEs present a low transformation level. Finally, we inductively built a framework for technological transformation and suggest five research avenues.

Coopetition may help firms to respond collectively to technological change, and compete against disruptive innovation. Yet, coopetition often creates tensions, as coopetitors need to engage in persistently contradictory activities. While existing research focuses on dyadic coopetition, we know much less about multilateral coopetition; specifically, how tensions in multilateral coopetition arise and how they are managed in response to disruptive innovation. We use an in-depth case study of nine Dutch firms, who respond to digital disruption by introducing a new digital music platform, to analyse how tensions evolve in a multilateral coopetition entity. Our findings reveal two coopetitive tensions: a novel multilateral generalist–specialist contribution tension, and the well-known value creation–capture tension. The generalist–specialist contribution is an actor-activity-based tension that originates from the variable contributions of different vertical and horizontal coopetitors over time. Coopetitors try to resolve or balance this tension constantly via commensuration and orchestration of individual coopetitors' contributions, but the tension remains dormant and therefore re-appears. The second tension appears to stabilize over time as the coopetitive entity manages to balance the value creation–capture tension through an iteration of cooperation-inducing, competition-inducing and attendance to redirecting external events. The tensions are interlinked: the generalist–specialist contribution tension triggers subgroup coalition formation, which spurs the value creation–capture tension. We contribute to the coopetition literature by explaining how tensions emerge and are managed in multilateral coopetition, pointing to a new tension inherent in multilateral coopetition. Furthermore, we show how disruptive innovation uniquely shapes multilateral coopetition by inducing cooperative behaviour.

In this article we suggest an institutional economic approach to classifying government policies, thus offering suggestions to improve the expected outcomes of government policy as well. We elaborate the argument for industrial policy-government policy to directly influence investment and resource allocation decisions by private companies. By adopting dimensions for industries that are stable over time, we can suggest which policies are suitable for which industries.

Suggesting socio-cultural values are selectors of institutions and institutional practices, and institutions in turn are selectors of (economic) behaviors, we investigate what explains the persistence of institutions that were aligned with past socio-cultural values when the values subscribed to in society have fundamentally changed. What, in other words, explains the persistence of obsolete institutions? We do so by investigating the labor market situation for academics in post-communist societies in Europe.

Recent scholarship has started to recognize the need to understand the role of contracts in processes of circular business model innovation, particularly in Product Service Systems (PSS) business models. Ownership, usage right and risk allocation are key aspects of contract design, all influencing circular business model innovation. However, current knowledge of how contracts support emerging circular business models is limited. In this paper, we address this gap by presenting an in-depth analysis of a case study drawing on data stemming from the Fairphone-as-a-Service project to define key elements for a Circular Service Contract Template. Our findings support the idea that contracts, ownership, and usage right issues strongly influence the core elements of a PSS business model, such as servitization, longevity and modularity. Particularly, evidence from the case study confirmed the presence of tensions between ownership and contractual aspects when attempting to manage the circular business practices.

This paper identifies practices that can facilitate knowledge transfer in university--industry (U--I) research partnerships by systematically reviewing extant literature. We aim to contribute to the theoretical development in the field of academic engagement and propose that knowledge transfer provides a valuable perspective. We started our review with identifying barriers and facilitators of knowledge transfer. Extant literature identified knowledge differences and differences in goals resulting from different institutional cultures as important barriers to knowledge transfer. They result in ambiguity, problems with knowledge absorption and difficulties with the application of knowledge. Trust, communication, the use of intermediaries and experience are found as facilitators for knowledge transfer that help to resolve the identified barriers. Our analysis offers practical advice for the management of academic engagement. Finally, we identified questions for future research based on inconsistencies in extant research and open questions we encountered during our analysis.

This study examines individual knowledge sharing in a coopetitive R&D alliance. R&D is increasingly carried out in an R&D alliance setting, where individuals share highly specialized tacit knowledge crossing firm boundaries. A particular challenging setting is the coopetitive R&D alliance, where partner firms partially compete and individuals may leak competitive knowledge. This setting has been studied on the level of the partner firm. We want to deepen insights by examining the individual level. Drawing on the motivation‐opportunity‐ability framework, we study the influence of individuals’ job experience (ability) on their performance in the alliance. We also examine effects of two‐ and three‐way interactions between job experience, a central position in the social alliance network (opportunity) and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. We find a positive association of job experience with individual performance, a positive interaction between job experience and extrinsic motivation and a positive three‐way interaction between job experience, central network position and intrinsic motivation, and discuss the impact of these findings.

Even when the neoliberal ideology of the free market was more dominant than it now is, the state was involved in economic activities that could be undertaken by private firms. State capitalism takes increasingly diverse forms, including beyond direct, partial or even indirect ownership. This paper briefly reviews some of these forms without claiming to be exhaustive as the shape state capitalism takes differs widely across the institutionalized contexts of countries. We assess state capitalism using Polanyi’s double movement framework and argue that this framework needs adaptation to novel forms of state capitalism that include, e.g., state-owned multinationals and sovereign wealth funds.

In a competitive business environment at the Bottom of the Pyramid smallholders supplying global value chains may be thought to be at the whims of downstream large-scale players and local market forces, leaving no room for strategic entrepreneurial behavior. In such a context we test the relationship between the use of strategic resources and firm performance. We adopt the Resource Based Theory and show that seemingly homogenous smallholders deploy resources differently and, consequently, some do outperform others. We argue that the ‘resource-based theory’ results in a more fine-grained understanding of smallholder performance than approaches generally applied in agricultural economics. We develop a mixed-method approach that allows one to pinpoint relevant, industry-specific resources, and allows for empirical identification of the relative contribution of each resource to competitive advantage. The results show that proper use of quality labor, storage facilities, time of selling, and availability of animals are key capabilities.

Growing migration between countries and the sustained trend of globalization are changing business dynamics and creating conditions for increased workforce birthplace diversity within firms. However, few studies investigate the relationships between workforce birthplace diversity and firm performance. We address this, and also study how the impact of workplace birthplace diversity on firm performance is moderated by characteristics of the firms (firm size). We find that firm performance increases when workforce birthplace diversity increases. While larger firms perform better, smaller firms can make better use of birthplace diversity’s positive impact on firm performance. We analyzed a panel of 33,258 Italian firms operating in the agriculture sector between 2012 and 2017. Theoretical implications of our results are discussed, and further research is recommended to investigate appropriate internal mechanisms to enable firms to take advantage of workforce birthplace diversity.JEL: F22, J15, J61, Z1

We propose to analyze the supply chain not (just) as interconnected firms where products move from primary production, through processing, down to final consumer (user), but rather as collaborating firms that exchange information in order for each to function. This opens the analysis of supply chains up for institutional economic analysis and also allows one to acknowledge that information can be used strategically. Yet, information exchange can also be hampered because of a supply chain’s structure—we focus on this. The difficulty of exchanging information is particularly important when an industry and its supply chain newly emerges or is disrupted. In such circumstances the way in which information is presented and used is not institutionalized yet in a way that works for the parties involved. We show the relevance of this approach to understanding supply chains by referencing the agrifood supply chain as it is on the cusp of being disrupted by the extensive use of Information Technology.

This chapter investigates the process of institutional field formation of circular economy (CE), by looking at how rulemaking and taking emerge in ‘contracts’ necessarily for supporting circular business. In this process, it focuses on the role of institutional intermediaries and thus use the literature on institutional field formation and the role of institutional intermediaries in that process for theoretical guidance. CE entails profound institutional processes to foster socio-economic transitions beyond business strategies and practices. The chapter theorizes about the emergence and formation of CE as institutional field and focuses on the role of institutional intermediaries through a qualitative case study approach. It then presents how circular value proposition elements and professional regulatory principles, ostensibly at odds with one another, are reconciled to make CE business activities feasible. Based on this evidence and analysis, the chapter presents findings on the role of the intermediary in the process of rulemaking and taking, and the formation of a regulatory landscape for CE.

This Special Issue presents the seven best papers from the 30thIFAMA 2020 World Congress, reflecting the richness and quality of the agri-food business and management scholarship that IFAMA facilitates and promotes. They reveal the diversity of research topics and current practices related to the most pressing agri-food business and management issues. Whether the papers discuss vegetable producers cooperatives in Cambodia, innovation intermarries and enhancing collaboration in Sweden, or information nudges in ornamental plant labeling in the United States, the papers in this Special Issue illustrate the need for variegated professional and academic skills and expertise represented in IFAMA.

This chapter deepens the understanding of business ecosystems in general, the evolution of business ecosystems, and business ecosystem governance. The complexity of interactions that arise within a business ecosystem requires governance mechanisms to manage the ecosystems effectively. Generally speaking, governance determines who has power, who makes decisions, how other stakeholders make their voice heard, and how account is rendered. Alongside contracts, rules, and procedures, contractual governance can also include common staff, linking-pins, or joint network information systems. Relational governance is a response to the observation that inter-organizational exchanges are often repeated exchanges embedded in social relationships rather than in formal contracts. In the leadership stage, the investment directions and technical standards of the business ecosystem are determined. A lack of commitment to the required resources, which can be any type of resources, like finance, time, physical space, materials, or personnel, impacts the effectiveness of collaboration. This may emphasize the need for contractual governance mechanisms, focusing specifically on the control function.

Innovation is about individuals collaborating to share existing knowledge and create new knowledge. Increasingly these collaborations cross organisational boundaries, like in R&D alliances. Many of these alliances are coopetitive, partners cooperate, but also compete with each other. Although knowledge sharing in coopetitive settings has been studied on the firm and the unit level, the micro (individual) level is underresearched. We consider individual alliance-related work performance of alliance members in a (moderately) coopetitive R&D alliance, drawing on social network theory and the organisational coordination perspective. We examine the influence of individual alliance members' position and level of activity in the alliance advice network on their work performance. We also examine the substitutive role of the alliance formal network, representing the official channels of knowledge sharing. We suggest that individuals' work performance is better explained by their position in the formal network, rather than in the advice network.

The adoption of digital technology was studied in terms of factors influencing the firm, either externally, such as competitive pressure and network influence, or internally, such as technological competences and human capital. A similar approach was applied to small and medium-sized enterprises in the agri-food sector, and among the factors considered to influence the firm in the adoption process, there was evidence of top management’s support. Extant literature investigating top managers’ intention to adopt digital technologies has been focusing on variables such as education, age, gender, etc. The strong belief of the High Technology Integration (HTI) firms’ managers in technology as a mean to innovate and improve their business is the first feature that could explain the difference between the HTI and Low Technology Integration enterprises. The managers of HTI enterprises usually vaunt higher exposure to important information about digital technology.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and assess the different strategies that what we call Info-firms can deploy in the markets that they serve. In many markets, a firm’s competitive advantage is derived from its information position. Firms that actively and extensively collect customer information may develop a number of strategies to increase their competitiveness. We refer to such firms as info-firms – for some firms, this is all that they do: collect and sell data about consumers. Info-firms can target either customers or other firms, and they target either existing or adjacent markets. A 2 × 2 matrix characterizing strategies is introduced. Some strategies are known, but their effects are more pronounced on online markets because of the overwhelming amount of data available, while other strategies that are discussed are new. The strategies that info-firms develop and use change the dynamics in value chains substantially. The strategies adopted affect the market and value chain dynamics and determine which parties in the market are likely to benefit (most). Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper. Findings The strategies that info-firms develop and use change their dynamics in value chains substantially. Some strategies are known, but their effects are more pronounced on online markets because of the overwhelming amount of data available, while other strategies are new. Research limitations/implications Drawing on an economic theory, an evaluation of the strategies that info-firms develop is offered, identifying which parties stands to gain the most. Practical implications The effects of the use of strategies used by info-firms have been largely overlooked, and yet, strategies adopted affect the market and value chain dynamics and determine which parties in a market are likely to benefit (most). Originality/value The classification of strategies that info-firms can develop, and the likely effects on the market dynamics and economic prospects of different market players has not been discussed in the literature so far. A comprehensive and novel perspective is offered.

Firm survival or reproduction does not occur as a matter of course. Especially under circumstances in which uncertainty and equivocality prevail is firm reproduction potentially problematic. Uncertainty prevails when there is insufficient or inadequate information to assess a situation, equivocality when the information available is multiinterpretable. Firm routines, social networks in a firm, and an organization’s identity can explain how a firm reproduces. We offer suggestions as to which of these will contribute to firm reproduction under what circumstances.

Based on a unique before-and-after research design for a study of a large financial services provider, this paper demonstrates how a sudden and substantial reduction in the number of formal positions affects an organization's voluntary ideation network in unexpected ways. The network of relations maintained to voluntarily (informally) exchange new ideas within a firm is more resilient to exogenous restructuring than the current literature suggests. Drawing on network theory, we show that the positioning of employees in an organization's instrumental workflow network prior to a major restructuring determines the degree to which they remain engaged with ideation activity. In addition, drawing on social exchange theory, we predict and find that the value of inputs provided to peers prior to downsizing positively moderates the likelihood that ideation activity persists. Thus, we contribute to research on organization restructuring and the evolution of social relations under conditions of uncertainty.

Economists' role in society has always been an uneasy one, and in recent years the ethicality of the profession and its practitioners has been questioned more than ever. This collection of essays is the first to investigate the multifaceted nature of what forms economists' ethical and economic views.Bringing together work from international contributors, The Ethical Formation of Economists explores the ways in which economists are influenced in their training and career, examining how this can explain their individual ethical stances as economists. The book suggests that if we can better understand what is making economists think and act as they do, considering ethicality in the process, we might all be better placed to implement changes. The intent is not to exonerate economists from personal responsibility, but to highlight how considering the circumstances that have helped shape economists' views can help to address issues. It is argued that it is important to understand these influences, as without such insights, the demonization of economists is too easily adapted as a stance by society as well as too easily dismissed by economists. This book will be of great interest to those studying and researching in the fields of economics, ethics, philosophy and sociology. It also seeks to bring an ethical debate within and about economics and to cause change in the practical reasoning of economists.

This book seeks to advance social economic analysis, economic methodology, and the history of economic thought in the context of twenty-first-century scholarship and socio-economic concerns. Bringing together carefully selected chapters by leading scholars it examines the central contributions that John Davis has made to various areas of scholarship. In recent decades, criticisms of mainstream economics have rekindled interest in a number of areas of scholarly inquiry that were frequently ignored by mainstream economic theory and practice during the second half of the twentieth century, including social economics, economic methodology and history of economic thought. This book contributes to a growing literature on the revival of these areas of scholarship and highlights the pivotal role that John Davis’s work has played in the ongoing revival. Together, the international panel of contributors show how Davis’s insights in complexity theory, identity, and stratification are key to understanding a reconfigured economic methodology. They also reveal that Davis’s willingness to draw from multiple academic disciplines gives us a platform for interrogating mainstream economics and provides the basis for a humane yet scientific alternative. This unique volume will be essential reading for advanced students and researchers across social economics, history of economic thought, economic methodology, political economy and philosophy of social science.

When seeking advice online about health concerns, forums dedicated to medical themes are increasingly becoming an appreciated source of information for many individuals. In online health communities, patients can ask questions or otherwise seek advice that is particularly relevant to them. While they may find some of the advice useful, other advice may be perceived as less valuable. By studying the advice-seeking, advice-giving, and advice-evaluation behaviours in one of the largest online health communities in Europe, this paper looks at what determines which advice is perceived as helpful, and why. Drawing on network theory, we analysed the interaction data of 108,569 users over twelve consecutive years based on all publicly available information of an established Q&A online health community. Utilising zero-inflated negative binominal modelling, our results show that advice received from others, who have similar predominant interests, is valued more when reaching out for lay expertise. If this advice is given by peers, who can also draw on expertise from other health areas, allowing for a combination of diverse “lay” expertise, the advice is valued even more. Advice provided by those who are quiˆgck to obtain the latest knowledge available in the larger community further reinforces these effects. Our findings offer an original view to understand the influence of lay expertise exchanged via online health communities and hold implications for both policy-makers and medical practitioners regarding their approach to patient-initiated use of social media for health-related reasons.

In some societies, entrepreneurs coming from outside of a community (i.e., outside entrepreneurs) are more active than entrepreneurs from within the community (i.e., inside entrepreneurs). Institutions and relationships that entrepreneurs entertain may hamper insiders from starting or succeeding. Institutional economics and anthropology suggest that, rather than outside entrepreneurs having more resources, the case may be that inside entrepreneurs could be hampered by existing institutions that blind and social relations that bind. Outsiders, however, may be less inclined to generate societal value in a community.

As each society becomes more complex over time, the number of complex societies increases with increasing wealth, and their interrelations become increasingly intricate, governments face significan...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of board diversity on the extent to which firms invest in R & D. Design/methodology/approach – Based on data collected about the composition of the board of directors, the authors determine statistically if the characteristics of directors predicts the extent to which firms invest more in R & D. Findings – The authors find, unexpectedly, that tenure diversity lead firms to invest less in R & D, while education diversity and gender diversity makes firms invest more. Gender diversity positively moderates education diversity as well, strengthening the effect found. Research limitations/implications – The sample of firms the authors include in the paper is restricted due to the overwhelming difficulty in collecting data about the composition of boards of directors, and their backgrounds. Practical implications – The paper offers insights into how boards of directors might need to be composed in order to try have firms invest more in R & D. Social implications – Innovative firms are more competitive and more sustainable. Knowing what contributes to a firm’s investment in R & D is thus of great social value. Originality/value – The authors include a much larger set of diversity measures than any previously published study, and provide counter-intuitive findings that have implications for practice, society, as well as theory about team composition.

Purpose The rising need to innovate and obtain knowledge from more distant knowledge sources calls for new innovation strategies and a better integration of other external actors who lie outside the traditional automotive supply chain. Such an open innovation strategy challenges organizational boundaries both on the firm and supply chain level, yet our understanding of the functioning of such boundaries and how they can be managed to allow for purposive knowledge flows is limited. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In a longitudinal case study, the authors trace the development of the first open innovation network in the German automotive industry over a period of five years based on archival data, semi-structured interviews, and field observations. Findings While the automotive industry is advanced in collaborating with suppliers for innovation, routines for assessing and integrating ideas from sources outside the supply chain are still underdeveloped. The authors show which current knowledge boundaries pose obstacles for open innovation initiatives in this industry, and how they could be mediated through the involvement of gatekeepers. Originality/value The authors challenge and clarify the notion of the “permeability of organizational boundaries” in the open innovation literature and investigate the role of gatekeepers for open innovation.

The industrial development in sub-Saharan Africa is perhaps more affected by the quality of institutions than that of other regions. We investigate what alternatives managers may have and what their firms would need to function in case the institutional furniture they encounter is of low quality. We find that, in high quality institutional environments, management spending effort to deal with the authorities and to navigate regulations negates the effect of the institutional environment. Managers do not need to spend such efforts. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that the positive effect of high-quality institutional environments on firm performance is enhanced by making informal payments.

In this article we first provide a brief introduction into social network analysis, focusing on the measures and approaches that are used in the empirical contributions in this special issue. Second, we discuss the role of social networks in new product development. Social networks are inherently multilevel; we consider four “levels”: networks inside a firm, networks that cross firm boundaries, networks between firms, and networks that reside outside of the firm. Third, we discuss these four levels and highlight some of the extant research. We summarize and position the eight papers in this special issue along these four levels. Together, we argue, these papers provide an interesting coverage of this burgeoning field.

McCarthy K. J. and Dolfsma W. The euro and its impact on the number, size, performance and regional spread of European mergers and acquisitions, Regional Studies. The macroeconomic effects of the euro have been extensively studied. The literature has, however, paid significantly less attention to the microeconomic consequences and few authors have considered if and how the euro has impacted firm-level decision-making. This paper explores if, how and in what way the euro has impacted one firm-level decision: whether to merge with or acquire another firm. This paper builds a sample of 19362 acquisitions, announced in the period 1990-2014. It shows that the euro has dramatically increased the number, size and performance of European mergers and acquisitions. Importantly, it also notes that the euro has altered the geographic spread of European acquisitions. The paper reports that since the introduction of the euro, acquirers have made increasingly distant acquisitions and have preferred targets in peripheral regions to those in the core. The results also hint at the suggestion that the euro may have led acquirers to prefer Eurozone to non-Eurozone targets. From a policy perspective, it is concluded, therefore, that the euro has significantly impacted firm behaviour and has contributed, in a positive sense, to regional integration.

Contains fulltext : 149091.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Knowledge flowing across firm-internal (unit) boundaries is an essential contribution to an organization's innovative performance. Knowledge, unfortunately, does not cross firm-internal boundaries as a matter of course. The different contacts an individual maintains in a firm's instrumental-formal and expressive-informal networks defines their personal communication profile – a profile that may or may not match their formal position within the firm. Through the contacts individuals maintain, they can entertain five different communication roles as they transfer knowledge within their firm; either internal to their own unit or brokering to other units. From among the five different roles, two are (unit) internally oriented and three are oriented toward others outside the unit, crossing firm-internal boundaries. We find that individuals who in their formal (but not in their informal) contacts are predominantly externally oriented will particularly contribute to innovative activity within the firm. Detailed case analysis of knowledge flows at a large European electronics and engineering multinational, provides evidence that certain combination of roles are more likely than others to be successful at bridging firm-internal boundaries as basis for innovative knowledge transfer, allowing individuals who combine these roles to play a special role in stimulating innovation. 23 mei 2015 19 p.

Articles published in the Review of Social Economy (RoSE) are of high academic quality: clearly written and argued. They make a significant contribution to the advancement of social economics, and ...

Disruptieve innovaties ontwrichten bestaande sectoren en industrieën. Om de gevolgen van zulke veranderingen op te kunnen vangen spelen bedrijfsreacties een belangrijke rol. Dit onderzoek toont dat de reacties van bedrijven binnen de Nederlandse muziekindustrie op de disruptieve werking van digitalisering drastisch verschillen, en dat hun uitgangssituatie (motivaties, competenties) in sterke mate bepaalt of deze reactie offensief dan wel defensief is.