Codification, patents and the geography of knowledge transfer in the electronic musical instrument industry

Reiffenstein, Tim

doi:10.1111/j.1541-0064.2006.00143.x

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 50 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…As Grabher and Ibert (, 252) observed, economic geography “uses networks as shorthand for enduring, robust, and trust‐based ties … and cohesive and stable social underpinnings.” The alignment of interests of different actors through a process of network stabilization has figured in several studies in economic geography: networks are linked to the establishment of trust; the spread of best practices, standards, and knowledge; the organization of global production; and so on (e.g. Barnes ; Coe, Dicken, and Hess ; Leyshon and Pollard ; Reiffenstein ). Network relationships may be local or regional, creating institutional thickness that supports a shared sense of purpose, knowledge exchange, and synergies of interaction between organizations (e.g., Krätke ; Maskell and Malmberg ; Morgan ).…”

Section: Becoming An Oligopticon: the Ioc From The 2000smentioning

confidence: 99%

The Topological Multiplicities of Power: The Limits of Governing theOlympics

Müller

2014

Economic Geography

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This article proposes that economic geography would benefit from a closer consideration of the topological multiplicities of power, that is, the multiple contending configurations of networks that make power a precarious accomplishment through creating constant overflows. It develops this argument by tracing how the circulation of knowledge in the preparation for the Olympic Games establishes sociomaterial networks that are meant to allow the International Olympic Committee to coordinate the organization of the event. On the basis of Bruno Latour's concept of the oligopticon, the article develops a sociomaterial notion of power to govern at a distance that emerges through the triple movement of collecting and mobilizing information, casting it into stable intermediaries, and recirculating knowledge. At the same time, a parallel narrative considers how this power and its spatial reach remain always partial and are transformed by overflows as elements move in and out of networks and how forces outside the network bear on it, creating "absent presences." Giving adequate attention to these topological multiplicities of sociomaterial networks offers an important counterweight to the dominant notion of stable social networks in economic geography and is particularly useful when analyzing the governance of projects and various other forms of ephemeral, distributed organizing. ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY90 (3):321-339. © 2014 Clark University. www.economicgeography.org oligopticon: a precarious center of power that attempts to enroll others in network associations and govern at a distance.On the empirical plane, the article presents a case that can be considered as emblematic for illustrating the topological multiplicities of power. It draws on the Olympic Games as an example of a large-scale project (cf. Grabher 2002) to examine how the International Olympic Committee (IOC)-as an oligopticon-attempts to govern at a distance by forging connections and enrolling a multitude of elements from different locations to stage the most complex mega-event on earth. In this process of emergence, network arrangements are often precarious, since relationships are forged anew for each edition of the Games. Networks frequently change shape, and elements wander from one network to another. By tracing how relations are established, but, crucially, where they are transformed and liquefied and how they reflect what is not in the network, the article explores the topological multiplicities of power and how they make the IOC's capacity to govern often rather selective.The focus on the topological multiplicities of power in large-scale projects further develops two major strands of economic geography research. One strand is on networks, knowledge networks in particular, in which stress has been placed on a functionalist reading of networks as stable, cohesive entities, marked by strong ties between social actors that enable economic action (cf. Grabher 2006, 181;Grabher and Ibert 2006). Networks are made up of ties that bind, whether the ties are of t...

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Section: Becoming An Oligopticon: the Ioc From The 2000smentioning

confidence: 99%

The Topological Multiplicities of Power: The Limits of Governing theOlympics

Müller

2014

Economic Geography

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“…) activities, including the increasing connections among agglomerations and to manufacturing 'dispersed' elsewhere often in other kinds of agglomerations (Bathelt et al 2004;Crevoisier 2004;Florida 2005;Oinas and Malecki 2002). This research is wide-ranging, encompassing both 'high-tech' activities (Patchell 1993;Rees 2005;Reiffenstein 2006) and the innovative 'up-grading' of 'low-tech' activities (Crewe 1996;Leslie and Reimer 2006;Rantisi 2002), as well as activities in between. With exceptions (e.g.…”

Section: Towards An Agenda For Eeg: Regions Remapping and Sustainablmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Economic Geography

Hayter

2008

Geography Compass

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This article advocates evolutionary institutionalism as a conceptual platform to launch a systematic approach to environmental economic geography. Evolutionary institutionalism interprets industrial transitions through the lens of innovative behaviour that is shaped by reciprocal economic and non‐economic processes and periodically restructures economies in the form of new techno‐economic paradigms (TEP). In this approach, environment–economy relations need not be zero‐sum games, as is often assumed. Rather, as a result of innovation and choice, these relations have been recalibrated historically and can be redefined again towards developing a green TEP in which development and sustainability are co‐imperatives. It is argued that the mandate of environmental economic geography is to assess and prescribe how place makes and should make a difference to a green TEP and the article sketches a research agenda to promote this goal. This research agenda focuses on the themes of regions as institutions, remapping resource use and sustainable value chains.

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“…The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien 52, no 2 (2008) Work and life in the clear-cut 207 distinction between codified and tacit knowledge, many writers argue that since codified knowledge is thought to be increasingly ubiquitous it is tacit knowledge that makes places special (Reiffenstein 2006). Tacit knowledge involves learning and skill that is very difficult or impossible to codify and can only be transmitted through training or gained through personal experience.…”

Section: Conceptualmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Discussions of learning, innovation and the transfer of knowledge have become commonplace in contemporary economic geography (Amin andCohendet 1999, 2004;Malmberg and Maskell 1999;Maskell and Malmberg 1999;Benner 2003;Bathelt et al 2004;Reiffenstein 2006;Rutherford and Holmes 2007). The extensive literature on industrial districts, clusters and learning regions emphasizes that place-based learning plays a critical role in determining the competitiveness of firms.…”

Section: Learning Tacit Knowledge and Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The extensive literature on industrial districts, clusters and learning regions emphasizes that place-based learning plays a critical role in determining the competitiveness of firms. Drawing on Polanyi's (1966) conceptual distinction between codified and tacit knowledge, many writers argue that since codified knowledge is thought to be increasingly ubiquitous it is tacit knowledge that makes places special (Reiffenstein 2006). Tacit knowledge involves learning and skill that is very difficult or impossible to codify and can only be transmitted through training or gained through personal experience.…”

Section: Learning Tacit Knowledge and Communities Of Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Work and life in the clear‐cut: communities of practice in the northern Ontario tree planting industry

Sweeney

Holmes

2008

Canadian Geographies / Géographies canadiennes

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Based on ethnography, interviews with tree planters and a survey of tree planting contractors, this article focuses on work cultures in northernIf you can plant trees, you can do anything. (Anthonisen, in Cyr 1998, p. 138) Tree planting is the last step in the process of industrial forestry, and the first step in its renewal (Braxton-Little 2001). Although the most expensive, manual tree planting is the most reliable method of forest regeneration when compared with natural regeneration or seeding by aerial or mechanical methods, one important aspect of tree planting is that, like logging, the labour process occurs in the woods rather than the mill or factory (Prudham 2005). This has important consequences for production relations and the organization and management of work in the industry. In the case of tree planting, labour demands are seasonal and discontinuous, the work sites are not spatially fixed, there is a dispersed deployment of workers at the site and both the weather and the terrain on which trees are planted can be highly variable. All these factors present challenges for labour supervision and 'impede the predictability and rationalization of production' (Prudham 2005, p. 31). Furthermore, the compressed planting season and the relatively high yearly turnover in the workforce means that new workers must quickly learn how to plant efficiently. They must also become accepted and integral members of their tree planting crews. These imperatives have resulted in the development of distinctive work cultures and practices that facilitate learning and the sharing of tacit knowledge between planters. In this article, we use the concept of communities of practice to analyze how these work cultures are produced and reproduced in the tree planting industry in northern Ontario.Recognizing the importance of social relations in producing (and reproducing), spaces of production is central to our study and to the broader discipline of economic geography (Harvey 1989;Peck 1996;Herod 2001;Hudson 2001;Castree et al. 2004). Beynon and Hudson (1993) differentiate capital's use of space from labour's use of place. They see space as the domain of capital, 'a domain which capital is constantly searching in pursuit of greater profits' (p. 182), while place comprises the 'meaningful situations established by labour' (ibid.). In these places, workers are not simply reproduced as bearers of the commodity labour power, but socialized as human beings in distinct and diverse communities. In our context, Ontario's boreal forests are both the space where forest products companies and tree planting contractors pursue profits, and the places (campsites, worksites, travel Figure 6s), and it is estimated that there are over 2,000 tree planting jobs in Ontario every year, held primarily by post-secondary students from Southern Ontario (Sweeney 2005). Tree planting work is both physically and mentally taxing. Quit rates are high, especially during the early stages of a contract. Those who survive for a whole planting season, however,...

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Codification, patents and the geography of knowledge transfer in the electronic musical instrument industry

Cited by 9 publications

References 50 publications

The Topological Multiplicities of Power: The Limits of Governing theOlympics

The Topological Multiplicities of Power: The Limits of Governing theOlympics

Environmental Economic Geography

Work and life in the clear‐cut: communities of practice in the northern Ontario tree planting industry

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