ABSTRACT
The objective of this chapter is to provide a contextual background for the following empirical chapters, which will be concerned with the networking behaviour of technology-intensive companies in molecular biotechnology and software for telecommunications. To do so, we offer a brief overview of the evolution and main features of each sector, drawing attention to their common traits as well as to their distinct characteristics. For each sector we focus on three main aspects: (1) a brief historical background detailing the origin and general evolution of the industry; (2) an overview of firms’ strategies, business models and networking behaviour over time; and (3) a discussion on the constraints and opportunities posed to firms that are located outside the main centres of knowledge production and/or business.
