Although the literature converges regarding the reasons why and how networks of technology alliances are formed, there is still lack of agreement on what constitutes an optimal network structure, once it has been formed. The aim of this paper is to fill this void and to determine what...

This paper undertakes a critical review of existing spillover analyses and proposes a unique analytical framework for examining technological spillovers in a manufacturing industry setting. The proposed framework overlaps three different literature strands; cluster and network dynamics,...

We study the dynamics of individual beliefs and information aggregation when agents communicate via a social network. We provide a general framework of social learning that captures the interactive effects of three main factors on the structure of individual beliefs resulting from such a dynamic...

Innovation support measures in the EU are mostly designed to support product innovation in RD intensive sectors. To increase the still considerable contribution to regional employment and competitiveness from SMEs in traditional manufacturing industries a broader innovation policy mix is more...

This paper investigates the influence of human resource management on learning from internal and external sources of knowledge. Learning for innovation is a key ingredient of catching-up processes. The analysis builds on survey data about pharmaceutical firms in Mexico. Results show that the...

We study the convergence properties of learning in social and economic networks. We characterize the effect of network structure on the long-run convergent behaviour and on the time of convergence to steady state. Agents play a repeated game governed by two underlying behavioural rules; they are...

This paper examines institutions and their role in supporting technical change as part of the development process, and asks how institutions shape the system of innovation (SI). The context of underdevelopment exhibits distinct system characteristics that differ markedly from those found under...

The study presented in this paper describes preliminary findings on changes in the adoption of different learning mechanisms before and after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), based on a study of 193 Mexican automotive firms. The results obtained give us...

Using field level data collected in Nigeria in 2003-2004, this paper examines the possibilities for learning through inter-organizational interactions in the country's biotechnological system of innovation, using public research institutes as an example. The paper considers inter-organizational...

This paper, based on new field data, examines the ways in which small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in selected developing countries learn to use and augment their core capabilities with new technologies. This paper presents three findings. First, there is clear evidence of increasing complexity...