Perspectives On Managing Innovation In Networks

Networks of collaborative relationships among firms are an important form of organization of innovative activities (Powell et al., 1996; Kogut, 2000). Especially in innovative and technology intensive industries, firms increasingly realize that, in order to tap into new technologies and know- how, internal development needs to be complemented with strategic collaborations (Gulati, 1998; Verspagen & Duyster, 2004). Strategic networks potentially:   provide firms with (a) access to information, resources, markets, and technologies, and (b) advantages from learning, scale, and scope economies; and   allow firms to achieve strategic objectives such as sharing risks and outsourcing value-chain stages and organizational functions. On the other hand innovation which is the corner stone for any company to sustain, is often identified as a key to inter-companies competitiveness and is promoted through various policy initiatives in many countries. Yet innovation today is no longer carried out within individual companies, but often crosses borders in the form of innovation networks. But according to Damanpour (1996, p. 693) current developed theories which have been studied and suggested during three last decades, don’t sufficiently clear and explain the innovative rocesses and suitable and required conditions for them to become successful. The changed operation settings in companies (Pittaway et al., 2004, p. 138) require a rethinking of appropriate approaches, the scope of this paper. In spite of great efforts of companies in managing innovation and connecting and communicating with supplier, partners and research institutions to do this management more properly, information and statistic data show that suitable and coherent approaches have not yet been established. Hence this paper addresses the existing perspectives for managing innovations in networks and their value for practitioners.

Keywords:

innovation , strategy , industrial networks , collaboration