ABSTRACT
Interfirm networks, with focus on supplier choices, location strategies, and the integration of local firms in local and supra-local networked territories, have been subject to a burgeoning field of inquiry in the literature. However, the network paradigm, while recognizing that global competition occurs increasingly between networks of firms, is complex and research is incomplete. Theory is fairly consistent about the reasons, conditions and outcomes of (successful) networking, but empirical studies show a plethora of (geographical) structures making it difficult to draw lessons, e.g. for industrial policy objectives. A striking example is presented in the special issue of Regional Studies (1999) about “Regional networking, collective learning and innovation in high technology SMEs in Europe” and in the Blackwell cultural economy reader (Amin and Thrift 2004).
