ABSTRACT
In spite of many ominous prophecies the importance of small enterprises as innovators and job creators in the economic system is not diminishing. Interfirm personal networking, so typical for small firms, is now considered to be the generic way of organising economic activity in turbulent environments. This increasing concern for networking, in particular when localised, is shared by the business community and societal institutions. Policy measures are increasingly focusing on systems of firms, not individual enterprises. However, these induced strategies for business development emanate from images of knowledge, which have their origin in corporate management practices.
