Knowledge Creation, Diffusion, and Use in Innovation Networks and Knowledge Clusters

In the 21st century, intangible resources such as knowledge and social capital have become as necessary to the modern economy as coal, diamonds, and oil were to the past. This shift from product-focused to service-focused economies necessitates a drastic re-thinking of the ways in which we support the mission and business of economic development on a global, regional, and national scale. In order to effect and sustain a positive change, innovation and knowledge networks need to be connected to every aspect of life, from the private and domestic, to the corporate and the global. This book integrates a wide variety of perspectives and treatises on mutually adaptive and complementary processes of knowledge generation, diffusion, and transfer within organizations and industry, addressing both the what and how to questions of knowledge management in a conceptual as well as an applied manner. It should be of strong interest to science and technology policy makers, research and development managers, business decision makers, and students of innovation and knowledge dynamics alike.