The sources of innovation: the firm and the local system - Multinationals and Economic Geography - page 176

and utilization of research through intra-firm channels; (2) Internal
knowledge transfer processes . First, face-to-face contact has
emerged as the most important mechanism of internal and
external communication for all interviewed MNEs. This is espe-
cially the case at the beginning of technologically complex
projects, where knowledge gaps with collaborators (internal or
external) or clients are larger. Second, IT-based support struc-
tures, such as workshare-platforms, directories, intranet-based
document systems or wikis are broadly used across the inter-
viewed MNEs. Third, as mentioned above, some companies
have developed specialized business units or positions focusing
on intra-firm knowledge transfer, collecting and evaluating all
internal research results and comparing them against external
sources; (3) Management practices for interdisciplinary projects .
Innovative activity relies on a diversified mix of skills; there-
fore adequate organizational approaches to manage knowledge
exchange across different disciplines are critical. An interesting
example occurs where MNEs, particularly from the ICT sector,
pilot new research products with lead users in a real-life envi-
ronment - an approach adapted from clinical research in the
pharmaceutical industry.
From the MNE to the region: Most obviously, MNEs' impact
on the regional organization of innovation occurs through their
R&D network infrastructure, especially when firms follow a decen-
tralized approach with the aim to interact with the local knowledge
base. We focus here on three additional channels. Firstly, inter-
industry initiatives sponsored by MNEs are used to stimulate local
and cross industry knowledge spillovers: a relevant example is
provided by a regional research and transfer platform developed
by an ICT firm, which funded inter-industry spin-outs and invested
in new interdisciplinary research lines in Germany. A second type
of influence occurs through MNEs institutional participation as
active stakeholders in regional cluster initiatives, chambers of
commerce or science advisory boards. Through such participa-
tion MNEs can affect coordinated investments in the quality of
place, regional talent management projects or schemes to finan-
cially support star scientists in regional universities. For instance,
in the UK, the Thames Valley Economic Partnership, to which
one of the interviewed MNEs (a German ICT subsidiary) belongs,
has established the TV Investment Network, a business angel