Geography, networks, and knowledge flow

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bell, Geoffrey G.; Zaheer, Akbar
• 署名单位: University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities; University of Minnesota Hospital; University of Minnesota Duluth; University of Minnesota System; University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• 刊物名称: ORGANIZATION SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1047-7039
• DOI: 10.1287/orsc.1070.0308
• 发表日期: 2007
• 页码: 955-972
• 关键词: knowledge flow; friendships; organization-level ties; INTERORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS; geography

摘要

Knowledge-which is closely linked to firm innovativeness-is accessed across organizational boundaries and geographic space via networks operating at different levels of analysis. However, we know tantalizingly little about the comparative influence of geography on knowledge flow across organizational boundaries over different types of ties, despite warnings that research needs to account for the geographic context of ties to fully understand causal relationships. Using a combination of primary and secondary data on 77 Canadian mutual fund companies, we find that institutional-level ties are valuable in knowledge transmission only when such ties are geographically proximate. Organization-level ties fail to act as transmitters of knowledge, regardless of geographic location. Interestingly, we find that geographically distant individual-level friendship ties are superior conduits for knowledge flow, which suggests they span geographic holes..