On the Role Played by Temporary Geographical Proximity in Knowledge Transmission

Abstract

Torre A. On the role played by temporary geographical proximity in knowledge transmission, Regional Studies. This paper defends the thesis that geographical proximity remains essential for knowledge transfer, but not often implies the co-location of innovation and research activities. The need for geographical proximity now mostly affects certain stages of the process of production, research or development. Short- or medium-term visits are often sufficient for the partners to exchange the information needed for cooperation. The mobility of individuals makes it possible to implement this mechanism. Temporary geographical proximity implies a strong relation to space, but one that differs in nature from that described by the traditional approaches. [image omitted] Torre A. Role de la proximite geographique temporaire dans la transmission de la connaissance, Regional Studies. Dans cet article, nous defendons la these selon laquelle la proximite geographique demeure essentielle au transfert des connaissances mais qu'elle n'implique pas souvent la co-localisation d'activites d'innovation et de recherche. La necessite de la proximite geographique affecte surtout, aujourd'hui, certaines etapes des processus de production, de recherche et de developpement. Les visites a court ou moyen terme suffisent souvent aux partenaires pour echanger des informations necessaires a leur cooperation. La mobilite des individus permet de mettre en œuvre ce mecanisme. La proximite geographique temporaire induit une forte relation a l'espace mais une relation qui differe en nature de celle qui est decrite par les approches classiques. Proximite geographique Proximite organisee Ubiquite Agregats Torre A. Die Rolle der vorubergehenden geografischen Nahe zur Wissensubertragung, Regional Studies. In diesem Artikel verteidigen wir die These, dass eine geografische Nahe zur Wissensubertragung nach wie vor unverzichtbar ist, aber oft keinen gemeinsamen Standort der Innovations- und Forschungsarbeit voraussetzt. Die Notwendigkeit einer geografischen Nahe betrifft heute meistens bestimmte Phasen im Produktions-, Forschungs- oder Entwicklungsprozess. Oft sind kurze oder mittellange Besuche fur die Partner ausreichend, um die fur eine Zusammenarbeit benotigten Informationen auszutauschen. Die Mobilitat der einzelnen Personen macht eine Umsetzung dieses Mechanismus moglich. Eine vorubergehende geografische Nahe setzt eine enge Verbindung zum Raum voraus, deren Beschaffenheit jedoch von den Beschreibungen der traditionellen Ansatze abweicht. Geografische Nahe Organisierte Nahe Ubiquitat Cluster Torre A. El papel desempenado por la proximidad geografica temporal en la transmision de conocimiento, Regional Studies. En este articulo defendemos la tesis de que la proximidad geografica sigue siendo un factor fundamental para la transferencia de conocimientos aunque esto no suele implicar la ubicacion conjunta de las actividades de innovacion y las de investigacion. La necesidad de proximidad geografica ahora afecta sobre todo a ciertas fases del proceso de p...

Knowledge governance within clusters: the case of small firms

“…These authors share the view that geographical proximity is more a social effect of cluster members' embeddedness than an economic cause of agglomeration (Torre, 2008). As a consequence, geographical proximity alone cannot account for the localized hal-00920052, version 2 -13 Feb 2014 learning that may take place between players because their interactions are strongly linked to cognitive, social, organizational and institutional dimensions.…”

“…In the learning situated theory, knowledge creation and diffusion takes place within communities of practice that enable their members to exchange information and knowledge (Brown & Duguid, 1998;Torre, 2008). A community of practice is an active entity of knowing that reveals specific forms of knowledge through its daily practices.…”

Not too close, not too far: testing the Goldilocks principle of ‘optimal’ distance in innovation networks

“…Third, the paper has not included an analysis of the role of temporary geographical proximity (Bathelt and Schuldt 2008;Torre 2008).…”

A Network-based view of regional growth

“…For instance, the concept of 'temporary clusters', whereby strategic network building occurs through conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions and the like, highlights the importance of network capital and access to knowledge through global pipelines Bathelt and Schuldt, 2008;Power and Jansson, 2008;Torré, 2008;Rinallo and Golfetto, 2011;Schuldt and Bathelt, 2011).…”