The role of proximity in sustainability transitions: A technological niche evolution analysis

The transition literature (especially within economic geography, urban studies and political ecology) highlights that the proximity between actors plays a crucial role in determining the dynamics of sustainable transitions. Economic geographers distinguish between absolute (spatial) and relative (non-spatial) proximity. These play different roles in the transition process, though relative proximity has been scarcely investigated in empirical studies. To overcome this limitation, we investigated the relevance of spatial and non-spatial proximity in the evolution of a technological niche. We also explored the roles of different kinds of non-spatial proximity (i.e. cognitive, organizational, social, institutional), in niche evolution, in terms of network expansion. To this end, we analyzed the Italian biofuel niche, as it has already undergone different evolution phases. We found that the most relevant drivers of niche networking were social, cognitive and institutional proximity. Additionally, while social proximity was relevant throughout the entire life span of the niche, cognitive and institutional proximity gained significance only in the maturity phase, marking a transition point in the niche evolution. From these findings we derive that policy makers should (i) concentrate on social proximity to speed up niche evolution and (ii) increase cognitive and institutional proximity in the development phase in order to consolidate the niche in the maturity phase. This could occur through initiatives aimed at creating common experiences (e.g. business incubators, technological communities) and the intervention of national and/or supranational institutions to create network externality conditions by means of R&D subsidies.     

The three facets of knowledge: A critique of the practice-based learning theory

The community of practice learning theory (Lave and Wenger, 1991) can be credited with establishing the social basis of learning, viewing it as occurring through participation in social practices and activities. However, it remains silent on the cognitive content of what is learned by participants in a community of practice. Nor does it address explicitly the role of individuals in the knowing process. Individuals are merely depicted in terms of a desire to belong to a community, progressing from a peripheral participation position to a more central one. The aim of the present paper is to assess the contribution of Lave and Wenger's (1991) practice theory for educational and other learning social settings. In a schooling context, for instance, Lave and Wenger's (1991) account of learning would imply that what students learn at school is how to relate and belong to the school community. By reducing learning and knowing to participation, and by displacing cognition from individuals to anonymous practices, the practice-based epistemology ignores the significant corpus of content knowledge (such as curriculums) and ascribes too passive a role to individuals and glosses over their differentiated access to resources for changing practices and their differentiated efforts in their social and cognitive development. The present paper suggests an approach to knowledge that takes into account the various facets of knowledge, that is, knowledge as knowledge-productive practices, as content, and as relation to a knowing subject, at the same time preserving the sociality of knowledge and learning.     

“The Art of Knowing”: Social and Tacit Dimensions of Knowledge and the Limits of the Community of Practice

Community of practice theory is inherently a social theory. As such it is distinct from more individualist accounts of human behavior, such as mainstream economics. Consequently, community of practice theory and economics favor different accounts of knowledge. Taking a community of practice perspective, this article challenges economists' attempts to reduce knowledge to information held by individuals and to reject tacit knowledge as mere uncodified explicit knowledge. The essay argues that Polanyi's notion of a tacit dimension affected numerous disciplines (including economics) because it addressed aspects of learning and identity that conventional social sciences overlooked. The article situates knowledge, identity, and learning within communities and points to ethical and epistemic entailments of community practice. In so doing it attempts to limit, rather than expand, the scope of community of practice analysis and to stress the difference, rather than the commonalities, between this and other apparently congenial forms of social analysis.     

To share or not to share? Self-perception and knowledge-sharing intent

The paper explores the intent of knowledge sharing in complex organizational contexts. Findings from semi-structured interviewing with 54 subjects in two large organizations in Saudi Arabia indicate that self-perception and contextual interpretation create tensions that affect the way knowledge is managed and shared. The dichotomy between self-centeredness and self-doubt was found to affect trust and openness necessary for genuine knowledge sharing. Mutual trust, developed through timely self-disclosure, was found to offer psychological safety for employees to share knowledge more openly. Inner tensions become the stimuli for maximizing the social aspect of interaction to negotiate meanings, strategize knowledge sharing, and redefine role identity. The interplay of cognitive and behavioural participation challenges one’s knowing and becoming, increasing the complexity and dynamics of knowledge sharing. Knowledge-sharing intent determines the learning of individuals and learning in organizations. A conceptual framework is introduced and implications for practice are discussed.     

“The Art of Knowing”: Social and Tacit Dimensions of Knowledge and the Limits of the Community of Practice

Community of practice theory is inherently a social theory. As such it is distinct from more individualist accounts of human behavior, such as mainstream economics. Consequently, community of practice theory and economics favor different accounts of knowledge. Taking a community of practice perspective, this article challenges economists' attempts to reduce knowledge to information held by individuals and to reject tacit knowledge as mere uncodified explicit knowledge. The essay argues that Polanyi's notion of a tacit dimension affected numerous disciplines (including economics) because it addressed aspects of learning and identity that conventional social sciences overlooked. The article situates knowledge, identity, and learning within communities and points to ethical and epistemic entailments of community practice. In so doing it attempts to limit, rather than expand, the scope of community of practice analysis and to stress the difference, rather than the commonalities, between this and other apparently congenial forms of social analysis.     

多维邻近性对创新网络组织间知识转移影响研究——基于OLED产业专利数据

选取OLED产业2007—2016年专利数据,构建40家组织的显、隐性知识转移网络,采用QAP分析法探究地理、技术和社会邻近性对组织间不同类型知识转移的影响。3种邻近性对其作用效果存在差异,且多维邻近性间存在交互作用,具体表现为技术、社会邻近性均正向影响组织间显、隐性知识转移;地理邻近性对组织间显、隐性知识转移无显著影响,但能正向调节技术、社会邻近性对组织间隐性知识转移的影响。     

地理接近性对跨国专利合作的影响——社会接近性的中介作用研究

跨国专利合作对于我国企业的技术创新具有重要意义。整合不同接近性因素来观察空间分散个体间的知识流动现象成为理论研究的新热点。既有研究分别探讨了地理接近性和社会接近性对远距离技术知识合作的影响,然而对二者的相互作用关系尚缺乏深入认识。基于112家中外企业的跨国专利合作数据,采用整体网络分析方法,研究发现地理接近性与跨国专利合作网络节点连接距离正相关,对连接重要程度无显著影响,说明地理空间并没有显著阻碍企业间的跨国专利合作。社会接近性对二者均有显著正向影响且对地理接近性与连接距离的相互关系具有中介作用,表明基于科技人员往来形成的密切社会关系有助于促进远距离技术知识合作。     

集群企业非本地创新的空间束缚：接近性效应研究

现有研究对集群企业非本地创新是否受空间距离束缚持有不同观点。立足于多维接近性视角,采用南京、西安和佛山等地114家集群企业数据,通过层次回归实证检验了地理接近性对集群企业非本地创新的影响及社会接近性的调节效应。结果显示即使考虑社会接近性,地理接近性对集群企业非本地创新绩效与创新性仍具有显著正向影响,提供了“地理未死”的直接证据。另外,表征社会接近性的四个指标中只有部分能显著调节地理接近性效应,说明社会接近性并不能完全“缓解”空间距离对集群企业非本地创新的影响,进而提供了“地理未死”的间接证据。最后,探讨了实证结果与既有理论相“冲突”的深层次原因,分析了既有研究分歧在接近性整合框架下的统一性。     

Ordering disorders; linking organization design and knowledge integration

Studies addressing the connections between knowledge and organization structures can be divided into two classes. One class holds that a perspective on knowledge signals shortcomings of classical design principles and calls for flatter hierarchy and less specification of the production structure. Another class maintains that a knowledge perspective on organizations is at odds with any design perspective, whether classical or not, because the emergent, thoroughly social and practice-based nature of knowledge as knowing in action makes knowledge a useless and even dangerous beacon to designers: ex ante, knowledge is said to be fundamentally indeterminate and any attempt to ‘structure around knowledge’ may effectively drive out knowledge. To explore differences and possible bridges between these two calls of studies, the paper explores how both elements of the equation, organization structure and organizational knowledge, are to be conceived to ensure a meaningful connection between them. It is argued that the grouping focus in both defines the meeting place of organization structures and organizational knowledge, but shows that the involved knowledge and grouping concepts are not mutually compatible. It leads to a view where organization structures are seen as the ‘seeding’ background for knowledge integration processes that, in turn, constitute the patterns of work relationships envisioned in the designer's organizational decomposition and grouping. For illustration purposes, the paper presents the example of the Max Planck Institute that describes one possible way through the conceptual model presented in the paper.     

多维邻近创新网络中知识扩散模型与仿真研究

【目的/意义】知识扩散是企业创新过程中获取知识的重要途径,在创新网络中多维邻近性作为外部知识获取的影响因素,对企业知识水平增长有重要作用。【方法/过程】定义了多维邻近创新网络,并将邻近性因素纳入扩散函数,建立了不同邻近性网络中知识扩散的过程模型,探讨产业发展不同阶段多维邻近性对知识增长水平的影响及其形成原因,并通过实证分析验证所构建的知识扩散机制在真实网络中的有效性。【结果/结论】研究结果表明:不同邻近性网络中的平均知识水平呈S形曲线演化规律;地理邻近因素在产业发展初期对网络中知识扩散发挥主要作用;技术邻近性是网络中知识增长的核心因素;网络中知识扩散受社会邻近性影响最小,但时间持续最长。     

地理、信息化与交通便利邻近与省际知识溢出

通过拓展多维邻近的概念,引入信息化邻近与交通便利度两个邻近维度,基于中国区域高技术产业1995年-2012年的面板数据,采用空间面板计量经济方法,对地理邻近、信息化邻近与交通便利度单维度及其交互邻近下中国研发创新的省际知识溢出效应进行研究。发现:我国区域高技术产业存在显著的正向空间自相关,且相关性逐渐增强;研发资本对创新产出的贡献要高于研发人员;除信息化邻近外各邻近下的省际溢出效应均呈现显著的促进作用;单维度邻近下,地理邻近的作用效果最大,但是在信息化与交通便利度交互邻近下,地理距离将不再是发展的主要制约因素;三维度交互邻近下的空间知识溢出效应并没有显著增强。最后讨论了上述结果背后可能的发生机制,并提出相关的建议。     

多维距离视角的技术创新扩散动态过程分析

技术创新扩散是创新驱动发展的传导器和放大器。通过将影响创新扩散的距离变量从传统的空间距离扩展到时间距离和社会距离,从多维距离视角分析了创新扩散的分布特征。通过理论梳理和实地调查发现,技术创新饱和扩散的静态结果在空间上呈现出由多个企业集聚区构成的“岛屿”状分布,这些“岛屿”是逆邻近扩散形成的“种子企业”邻近扩散的结果；在时间距离上呈现出同一区域内采用时间的邻近性和不同区域之间采用时间的离散性；在社会距离上呈现出所有采用方与直接扩散源之间的邻近性。     

Sociological Rob: How Rob Kling Brought Computing and Sociology Together

We examine practice theories concerned with knowledge sharing in complex organizations to distinguish common trends and variations in this complex body of work. We suggest that an analytical framework highlighting the relational thinking in practice theories can serve as a tool to sort through the literature on knowledge sharing. First, we delineate a relational framework consisting of seven attributes associated with a practice theory. Second, we use this framework to analyze a narrow set of practice theories represented by three seminal works on communities of practice. Third, we compare and contrast the relational dynamics found in the three seminal works in regard to how they conceptualize knowledge sharing within and across communal boundaries.     

低碳技术合作创新网络中的多维邻近性演化

基于气候变化和能源安全的现实考虑，低碳技术创新已成为全球重要议题。本文首先从理论上分析低碳技术合作创新网络中的多维邻近性及演化，然后以低碳汽车技术为例，基于联合申请专利，利用数据挖掘与社会网络分析构建1992-2011年全球低碳汽车技术合作创新网络，考察网络中多维邻近性存在与否，演化过程如何。研究表明，低碳技术及其合作创新网络与多维邻近性协同演化；低碳技术合作创新网络中多维邻近性演化涉及不同国家地区与行动者网络位置与能力的演变；低碳技术合作创新网络中多维邻近性演化需注意避免过度邻近的“锁定效应”。     

复合邻近条件下大城市的区域吸收能力

区域间的知识流动逐步发展成为在空间层面上配置创新资源、推进国家创新一体化的重要支撑。利用2008-2014年以来城市间专利权转移的来源地-目的地“流数据”,避免专利引文研究的文献分析缺陷,应用空间交互模型,在区域层面上把单一地理邻近性扩展为包含技术总体水平邻近、技术结构类别邻近和制度邻近的复合邻近性,对城市个体虚拟变量进行回归参数估计,计算得到中国大城市的区域吸收能力水平。实证结果表明,1000-1500公里之间存在着我国知识流动中空间相互作用的临界点,技术邻近性在总体水平和结构类别两个维度上对知识流动的促进作用得到验证,高吸收能力城市呈现出圈带状集聚的空间特征。     

基于提高知识员工组织嵌入度的实践社群研究

知识经济时代,企业之间的竞争,最终都要依靠知识的载体--知识员工得以实现,吸引和留住知识员工显得异常重要。本文在提出"组织嵌入"概念的基础上,认为实践社群具备知识员工嵌入组织的粘性要素,并分别从"知识"和"学习"这两个粘性要素对实践社群提高知识员工组织嵌入度的作用机制进行了深入系统的分析,最后提出企业应创建和培育实践社群。     

Towards a post-human distributed cognition environment

The view of communities of practice as the relevant context for generating and gaining knowledge has raised fears that these will fall prey to various organizational, social or political manipulations. This paper aims to question these humanist concerns, arguing that knowledge context is increasingly becoming a post-human context that lies beyond the direct control and manipulation of humans. In terms of this post-human position, the paper outlines this shift, suggesting that emergence replaces human intentionality and the dynamic partnership between humans and non-humans, and that intelligent machines replace the liberalist, humanist subject's manifest destiny to dominate and control knowledge. This paper aims to raise/rekindle the debate on the prospects of managing knowledge and learning in organizations. Finally, implications for the community-based learning theory are discussed.     

基于知识质量的社会化问答社区用户知识共享的演化博弈分析

[目的/意义]社会化问答社区作为网络知识交互平台,其持续发展的关键在于促进用户知识共享,提升共享知识质量。[方法/过程]通过社区知识"质"与"量"的细分,将社区用户主动或被动参与社区知识共享获得的知识收益区分为"质"的收益与"量"的收益,并构建社会化问答社区用户知识共享的演化博弈模型,探讨不同博弈假设下问答社区知识共享的均衡状态。[结果/结论]通过仿真显示,社会化问答社区共享知识质量与用户共享行为策略会受到用户共享意愿与能力、用户认可与社区激励、感知共享成本等因素的影响。