Research interests
Current research
Last update: May 8, 2011 - Anne ter Wal ©
Anne ter Wal
Research Fellow
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Imperial College Business School - Research


Newsletter Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group


Urban and Regional Research Centre Utrecht (URU)


Working Paper Series
"Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography


● Social network and analysis and network theory
● Intra-organizational networks (e.g. knowledge sharing)
● Inter-organizational networks (e.g. boundary-spanning)
● Open Innovation
● Network dynamics (e.g evolution of inventor networks)
● Spatial clusters (e.g. networks within and beyond clusters)
● Economic geography

The structure and dynamics of knowledge networks:
a proximity approach
(download)

Supervision
Prof. Dr. Ron Boschma
Dr. Koen Frenken







Contents
Various parts of the PhD thesis have been published as peer-reviewed papers, are available as working papers or are currently under review for publication. For an overview  of chapters click here.

Executive summary
Local knowledge networks are often held responsible for the competitiveness and innovativeness of geographical clusters. However, the majority of s
Local knowledge networks are often held responsible for the competitiveness and innovativeness of geographical clusters. However, the majority of studies on spatial clusters neglect to analyse the structure of these networks over time. Through the application of social network analysis this dissertation provides an in-depth study on the structure and dynamics of networks within and across clusters. More specifically, it analyses how geographical, social and cognitive proximity can explain the evolution of knowledge networks.
It appears that the effect of geographical proximity on network formation is not constant over time; it proves to be most relevant for young emerging industries where knowledge is predominantly tacit. Yet, in many cases social proximity appears to be a necessary condition for local knowledge networks to emerge. The research demonstrates that a lack of social proximity might prevent the emergence of local collective learning in clusters despite geographical proximity.

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+44 (0) 20 759 41460
+44 (0) 20 782 37685
a.terwal @ imperial.ac.uk
Imperial College Business School
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group

PhD thesis

Focus of my current research
Many organizations have attempted to open up their innovation processes by increasingly exploiting external sources of knowledge to help them generate, develop and commercialize innovative ideas. These open innovation initiatives require a new set of skills and practices, and many firms have struggled to train and manage their staff to become more externally facing. My research aims to improve our understanding of how organizational members find and develop new, external ideas and subsequently transform them into successful products. Adopting a social network approach, I specifically zoom in on the role of intra- and inter-organizational networks in this process.