Cooperation and competition in network governance: regional networks in a globalised economy

Klaus Semlinger

Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 2008, vol. 20, issue 6, 547-560

Abstract: The (re-)discovery of industrial districts in Italy during the 1980s has shown that today mere co-location of entrepreneurial entities has to be supplemented by intentional cooperation: To develop and sustain competitive competence, companies have to specialise. Yet to preserve flexibility it is also necessary that they use the special knowledge of others, thus that they collaborate closely with other specialised firms. Additionally, because increased specialisation unavoidably leads to growing asymmetry of information, hampering both market mode collaboration and the hierarchy mode of control, it is argued that regional collaboration should take place in cooperative networks of trusted partners. However, in a developed Knowledge Society it is quite unlikely that the most advanced knowledge is always at hand nearby in well-established intra-regional networks. Correspondingly, regional networks have to be open for collaboration with strangers and they have to combine cooperation and competition. The paper elaborates on these necessities, investigates the generic mode of cooperative interaction and tries to solve the dilemma of the ‘antagonistic melange’ of conflicting governance structures. In doing so, the paper presents a model of cooperation which should give some guidance for the analysis of cooperative relationships and some hints for planning advanced, that is hybrid, networks.

Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1080/08985620802462157

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