This paper addresses a puzzle related to firm size and competition. Since Stephen Hymer´s pioneering contribution (Hymer, 1960/1976), theories of the firm implicitly assume that only large, diversified multinational enterprises can compete in industries that combine high capital intensity, high...

This paper introduces a model of knowledge sharing of lead users located in a public and unrestricted community of users. While existing literature on knowledge sharing focuses on allocation and collaboration processes inside or among companies we extend this to the community level. We then...

In this paper, we concentrate on how evolutionary economics contributes to a better understanding of the spatial evolution of newly emerging industries. Inspired by evolutionary thinking, four types of explanations are discussed and tested in an empirical analysis of the spatial pattern of the...

The study of social institutions producing and disseminating knowledge has mainly concentrated on two main concepts: Science and Technology. This paper examines a recent institutional form that seems not to resemble either of the other two; that is, knowledge-intensive communities, where...

The aim of this paper is to investigate how industrial development, manufacturing in particular, has been contributing to agrarian change. In order to address this issue, it analyzes the technical bases and structural specificities – i.e. time and scale constraints – of agricultural...

A growing body of research on firms’ “open science” strategies rests on the notion that scientists have a strong preference for publishing and that firms are able to extract a wage discount if they allow scientists to publish. Drawing on a survey of 1,400 life scientists about to enter the...

We study the business model of venture debt firms, specialized institutions that provide loans to high-growth startups. Venture debt represents an apparent contradiction with traditional debt theory since startups have negative cash flows and lack tangible assets to secure the loan. Yet, we...

This study is aimed at a better understanding of the interaction between design of public support for innovation at different levels of policy-making, and firms’ innovation activities. How do firms respond to the incentives offered by various policies? We propose an analytical framework to...

Recent empirical contributions emphasize the importance of (potential) market size for the development of new pharmaceuticals. At the same time many scholars point out the importance of of scientific advances for the industry’s R&D activities. Against this background I analyze the relationship...

Strong interaction of innovative actors within a local network is commonly said to increase the region-specific knowledge-stock, leading to a comparative advantage. However, it might also lead to a lock-in situation, if local trajectories are directed towards inferior solutions. Accordingly, it...