Penang has always been a focal point, absorbing knowledge (and popular culture) from civilizations to the East and West. In modern Penang the pattern of cultural contacts has changed over time. Research institutes and universities in Penang cooperate with foreign partners to produce research...

The expansion of markets and the integration of markets into a world economy has added new dimensions to the social and cultural organisation of markets. We have identified three dimensions of market expansion: the growth of market oriented production and trade, internal and external market...

World trade and energy resources have to pass certain "choke points" between areas of production and their final destination. One of these is the Straits of Malacca, the sea passage connecting the China Sea with the Indian Ocean. Trade through the Malacca Straits historically played a major role...

We have identified three dimensions of market expansion: the growth of market oriented production and trade, internal and external market integration and the creation of virtual markets. These three processes can occur side by side and are connected with social and cultural change.

In the emerging globalised knowledge society/economy, a group of professionals, namely experts and consultants gain in importance. The paper discusses the following issues: Who are these experts and consultants? Why is this group of knowledge workers strategically important and why is their...

The paper analyses a recent collaborative knowledge transfer project between the Republic of Singapore and the Republic of Indonesia across the Straits of Malacca. The initiative was aimed at supplying the city state at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula with green vegetables from Riau,...

The objective of this paper is to examine whether the 'Strategic Group concept' is useful in understanding the evolution and rapid development of Singapore's biotechnology industries. We briefly describe the history of this new knowledge-intensive industry in Singapore, why and how it was...