ABSTRACT
As the introductory chapter to this book indicates, networks have had a rather ambiguous role in the development of particular industries and regions.2 In addition, at different points in time, networks have been shown to exercise first a positive and subsequently a negative effect on the development of specific industries.3 Ordinarily, we would expect both that the transmission of information between agents and the formation of networks to facilitate this transmission would be highly desirable. However, there can be little, if any, guarantee that firms and their supporting networks will use this information for the common good. This is clearly an important consideration because the issues of trust and consensus are pivotal to the successful operation of networks. This chapter seeks to provide a re-appraisal of the positive view of networks by examining the break-up of consensus and the undermining of networks in depressed industries.4
