Access to external sources of technical knowledge is one of the keys to staying innovative for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The literature suggests that SMEs with a weak internal R&D capacity do not make much use of institutional sources like research institutes and universities....

In spite of a growth in interest in the implications of networks for regional development, those studies which closely examine applications of learning networks to peripheral regions are still few in number. The authors review how peripheral regions are less favoured in terms of technological...

IZUSHI H. (1997) Conflict between two industrial networks: technological adaptation and inter-firm relationships in the ceramics industry in Seto, Japan, Reg. Studies 31, 117-129. An examination of technological adaptation by small and medium sized firms in a Japanese district of traditional...

Izushi H. What does endogenous growth theory tell about regional economies? Empirics of R&D worker-based productivity growth, Regional Studies. Endogenous growth theory emerged in the 1990s as 'new growth theory' accounting for technical progress in the growth process. This paper examines the...

SMEs with a weak internal R&D capacity show the tendency to shy away from using external sources of technical expertise. The tendency deters providers of industrial modernization services from supporting such structurally weak SMEs. This paper examines how Japan's local technology centres --...</italic>

IZUSHI H. (1999) Can a development agency foster co-operation among local firms? The case of the Welsh Development Agency's Supplier Association Programme, Reg. Studies 33 , 739-750. There is growing interest in policies promoting inter-firm co-operation to diffuse best practice in...

This unique Handbook examines the impacts on, and responses to, economic geography explicitly from the perspective of the behaviour, mechanics, systems and experiences of different firms in various types of industries. The industry studies approach allows the authors to explain why the economic...