Knowledge Economies: Innovation, Organization and Location
Abstract
Convened by Dr. Wilfred Dolfsma1, dolfsma@rsm.nl / wdolfsma@nias.knaw.nl at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (in the Social Sciences and the Humanities) (NIAS, www.nias.knaw.nl) in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. Is the 'knowledge economy' too elusive a concept to be useful, or is it merely an entity that has many facets? Certainly contributions to an understanding of the role of knowledge in the economy in both a narrow as well as a broad sense can and must be made by scholars from a number of disciplines. Economists are among them, certainly, but so are geographers, technology or science students, and management scholars. In fact, of course, contributions from the whole of the social sciences can be perceived to contribute to a better understanding of the knowledge economy. Perhaps what these scholars perceive and conceptualize is not the same entity; perhaps it is better to talk about knowledge economies, in plural. A discussion about the role of knowledge in the economy not only touches on the fundaments of economic growth and dynamics, but also on such more social issues as how (and why) people exchange knowledge, how knowledge accumulates. Profound conceptual discussions can be staged when analyzing the knowledge economy. Conceptual discussions, if not rooted in empirical observations and analyses, can easily become unstuck, however. The workshop will therefore bring together scholars who present and discuss issues related to the theme of 'knowledge economies' from a range of angles. Contributions will both be conceptual as well as empirical. Rather than analysis focused on one level of aggregation, contributions will relate across the different aggregation levels. Knowledge exchange and collaboration between parties aiming at innovation between individuals, between firms (for instance in networks, possibly in a regional setting), as well as at the macro level will be the center of attention for this workshop. Obviously, this relates to strategic considerations for firms, and possibly has bearings on the theory of the firm. Issues for government policy as well as firm strategy are implicated. The Workshop is sponsored by NWO - Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, and ERIM - Erasmus Research Institute in Management.
