Social Networks and Actual Knowledge Flow in the Irish Biotech Industry

This paper presents an analysis of networks among small and medium-sized enterprises in the Irish biotech sector. The study applies social network analysis to determine the structure of networks of company directors and inventors in the biotech sector. In addition, on the basis of interviews, this article analyses the extent of actual knowledge flow through these industry networks. The paper makes both a theoretical and methodological contribution to innovation network research. In relation to theory, the findings of the social network analysis indicate that the extent and path of knowledge flow are influenced by both the type of knowledge in question and whether the network is of a formal or informal nature. Methodologically, the results of this paper raise questions about the application of social network analysis in innovation studies.     

Knowledge and Information Networks in an Italian Wine Cluster

The aim of this article is to analyse the nature and extent of knowledge and information networks in an Italian wine cluster. Moreover, the relation between firms’ characteristics and the knowledge network structure is also explored. The empirical findings show that knowledge is unevenly distributed in clusters and that networks of knowledge and information differ a great deal in terms of their structure. In fact, knowledge flows are restricted to a tightly connected community of local producers, differing in terms of knowledge assets, innovation behaviour and overall economic performance with respect to the rest of the firms in the cluster.     

Learning in Single Hidden-Layer Feedforward Network Models: Backpropagation in a Spatial Interaction Modeling Context

Learning in neural networks has attracted considerable interest in recent years. Our focus is on learning in single hidden-layer feedforward networks which is posed as a search in the network parameter space for a network that minimizes an additive error function of statistically independent examples. We review first the class of single hidden-layer feedforward networks and characterize the learning process in such networks from a statistical point of view. Then we describe the backpropagation procedure, the leading case of gradient descent learning algorithms for the class of networks considered here, as well as an efficient heuristic modification. Finally, we analyze the applicability of these learning methods to the problem of predicting interregional telecommunication flows. Particular emphasis is laid on the engineering judgment, first, in choosing appropriate values for the tunable parameters, second, on the decision whether to train the network by epoch or by pattern (random approximation), and, third, on the overfitting problem. In addition, the analysis shows that the neural network model whether using either epoch-based or pattern-based stochastic approximation outperforms the classical regression approach to modeling telecommunication flows.     

From Big Noise to Big Data: Toward the Verification of Large Data sets for Understanding Regional Retail Flows

There has been much excitement among quantitative geographers about newly available data sets, characterized by high volume, velocity, and variety. This phenomenon is often labeled as “Big Data” and has contributed to methodological and empirical advances, particularly in the areas of visualization and analysis of social networks. However, a fourth v—veracity (or lack thereof)—has been conspicuously lacking from the literature. This article sets out to test the potential for verifying large data sets. It does this by cross‐comparing three unrelated estimates of retail flows—human movements from home locations to shopping centers—derived from the following geo‐coded sources: (1) a major mobile telephone service provider; (2) a commercial consumer survey; and (3) geotagged Twitter messages. Three spatial interaction models also provided estimates of flow: constrained and unconstrained versions of the “gravity model” and the recently developed “radiation model.” We found positive relationships between all data‐based and theoretical sources of estimated retail flows. Based on the analysis, the mobile telephone data fitted the modeled flows and consumer survey data closely, while flows obtained directly from the Twitter data diverged from other sources. The research highlights the importance of verification in flow data derived from new sources and demonstrates methods for achieving this.     

Network Structures in Regional Innovation Systems

While interactive learning and inter-organizational relations are the fundamental building blocks in regional innovation system (RIS) theory, the framework is rarely related to investigations of regional knowledge network structures, because in RIS literature relational structures and interaction networks are discussed in a rather fuzzy and generic manner, with the “network term” often being used rather metaphorically. This paper contributes to the literature by discussing theoretical arguments about interactions and knowledge exchange relations in the RIS literature from the perspective of social network analysis. More precise, it links network-theoretical concepts and insights to the well-known classification of RIS types by Cooke [(2004) Introduction: Regional innovation systems – an evolutionary approach, in: P. Cooke, M. Heidenreich & H.-J. Braczyk (Eds) Regional Innovation Systems: The Role of Governances in a Globalized World, 2nd ed., pp. 1–18 (London: UCL Press)]. We thereby exemplarily show how the RIS literature and the literature on regional knowledge networks can benefit from considering insights of the respective other.     

Predicting Regional Self‐Identification from Spatial Network Models

Social scientists characterize social life as a hierarchy of environments, from the microlevel of an individual's knowledge and perceptions to the macrolevel of large‐scale social networks. In accordance with this typology, individuals are typically thought to reside in micro‐ and macrolevel structures, composed of multifaceted relations (e.g., acquaintanceship, friendship, and kinship). This article analyzes the effects of social structure on micro outcomes through the case of regional identification. Self‐identification occurs in many different domains, one of which is regional; that is, the identification of oneself with a locationally associated group (e.g., a “New Yorker” or “Parisian”). Here, regional self‐identification is posited to result from an influence process based on the location of an individual's alters (e.g., friends, kin, or coworkers), such that one tends to identify with regions in which many of his or her alters reside. The structure of this article is laid out as follows: initially, we begin with a discussion of the relevant social science literature for both social networks and identification. This discussion is followed with one about competing mechanisms for regional identification that are motivated first from the social network literature, and second by the social psychological and cognitive literature of decision making and heuristics. Next, the article covers the data and methods employed to test the proposed mechanisms. Finally, the article concludes with a discussion of its findings and further implications for the larger social science literature.     

Knowledge Production,Urban Locations and the Importance of Local Networks

This paper analyses the relationship between knowledge production and urban locations in industrial design, a knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS). KIBS concentrate in urban locations. This is often explained by the co-location of client firms and market access in large cities. Recent research on knowledge production, however, reveals that knowledge productive networks are significant for both the competitiveness and location of KIBS. Thus, to understand the urban location of industrial design, it is important to analyse how knowledge production is organized within the industry. Industrial design is concentrated in urban locations, but most of its clients are located elsewhere. Hence, it seems that industrial design firms concentrate in urban locations mainly because their knowledge networks include specific types of formal and informal local social networks.     

Interorganizational Collaboration Networks in Economic Development Policy: An Exponential Random Graph Model Analysis*

Regional economic development competition can be inefficient and destructive because decisions by one governmental unit can impose both externalities on its neighbors. Collaborative networks of multiple stakeholders within and across jurisdictions are an increasingly crucial component of regional economic development. In this article, we focus on the emergence of voluntary and self‐organizing network relationships among local governments to address economic development concerns. The motivations and decisions of local actors play a critical role in shaping and implementing regional collaboration. On a micro level, the collaboration choices are shaped by three primary factors: the transaction costs reflected in the configuration of relationships in which an actor is embedded; the organizational similarities (homophily); and the resource dependencies that shape the local actors' preferences for forming relationships with other specific actors. We utilize an exponential random graph model (ERGM) to test hypotheses regarding the most prominent observed patterns of network relationships within and across different organizational sectors. The results demonstrate that both reciprocity and social clustering structures are preferred by both government and nongovernment organizations. These results suggest that interorganizational collaboration for economic development requires more than simple exchange relationships. Rather, network actors may be better served by participating in a densely clustered network that is capable of maintaining credible commitments to collective solutions.     

Network analysis of tourist flows: a cross-provincial boundary perspective

In contrast to the extensive research regarding tourist flows on the international, intranational, interregional, intercity, intracity and tourism-spot scales, little attention has been paid to the cross-provincial boundary perspective. In view of the fact that China's provincial administrative boundaries have a long history and a profound influence on the society, culture and economy of neighboring provinces, this study focuses on tourist-flow networks in China that cross ‘provincial’ boundaries. Tourist-flow data from a questionnaire survey and travel-agency-recommended routes were acquired, and the social network analysis method and boundary effect analysis were adopted for the first time to study the cross-boundary tourist flows. Lugu Lake in China was selected for the case study. The spatial distribution and impact factors of cross-boundary tourist flows are discussed, and a scientific basis for future collaborations among cross-boundary tourism destinations is provided. The following conclusions are reached. (1) The spatial structure of cross-boundary tourist-flow networks is complex. There is a core–periphery structure, and each node assumes different roles and functions. (2) Cross-boundary tourist flows are significantly influenced by the boundary-shielding effect, and the properties, direction and extent of the effects are diverse and depend on accessibility, resource endowments, resource heterogeneity and the extent of regional integration. (3) Cross-boundary tourist flows are affected by a boundary-mediating effect, and structural holes play a critical role in the boundary-mediating effect and drive the integration of regional tourism.     

基于企业网络视角的城市网络研究进展与展望

随着生产分割程度的不断加深,企业网络空间增长已经成为城市网络生长发育的重要驱动力量。近30年来,基于企业网络视角的城市网络研究日益增多,在链接关系及时空过程、价值生产空间格局、外部经济及其空间差异、规划实践及治理模式四个方面取得了重要进展。本文在梳理城市网络发展脉络的基础上,从多维视角提出了基于企业网络视角的城市网络理论体系研究框架。总体来看,基于企业网络视角的城市网络研究还处于起步发展阶段。围绕完善理论体系建设,未来研究应着力在5个方面取得进展：城市网络分析技术方法的发展完善、城市网络多维度时空过程的综合比较研究、城市网络发育过程的微观机理解析、城市网络演化模式理论模型研制、城市网络的治理模式和政策框架研究。     

Re-emergence of Suburbia: The Case of Izmir Turkey

In Turkey, suburbia has become a subject of debates since the 1990s relative to the reconfiguration of urban environments due to transnational economic relations, formation of new upper income groups, social polarization and changing consumption habits. With the help of a case study in the city of Izmir, this paper examines the extent of suburbanization in Turkey in relation to the theoretical works about this subject. The studies have shown that the emergence of suburbia in Izmir goes back to the periods of integration to the capitalist economy during the seventeenth century. Meanwhile, the Anglo-Saxon type suburbia in Izmir has reemerged especially in the recent decades and along the motorways to the city. However, this paper claims that these areas are not fully established in the case of Izmir due to costs of suburban life and lack of social and infrastructural facilities.     

基于社会网络分析方法的产业集群研究——以河南省虞城县南庄村钢卷尺产业集群为例

近年来,社会网络分析方法(SNA)被引入到产业集群研究中,它从更微观层次刻画了产业集群的网络结构和网络特性,在一定程度上弥补了当前产业集群研究的缺陷。但是SNA并不是深层次的结构模型,相应的分析还要从现象洞察到其背后社会关系的深层含义。本文首先对SNA作一简单介绍,然后以河南省虞城县南庄村钢卷尺产业集群为例,来检验这种分析方法在集群网络研究中的具体应用,并通过探究现象背后的社会关系来修正和完善这种分析方法,得出了重要结论,同时为丰富我国产业集群的研究方法提供有益参考。     

TERRITORIAL GOVERNANCE,NETWORKS AND POWER: CROSS‐SECTORAL PARTNERSHIPS IN RURAL POLAND

Research on the operation of territorial governance and rural development programmes is dominated by qualitative methodologies, paying little attention heretofore to the characteristics and structures of new horizontal and vertical relationship formations that are the explicit objective of the governance and rural development model. Seeking to address this deficit in the literature, this article adds to a small number of existing contributions that use social network analysis (SNA) to examine the role of inter‐organizational networks in shaping geographic functional regions in the context of governance. Rooted in the methodological perspective of SNA, the analysis focuses on relations between local actors participating in three area‐based rural partnerships in Poland, which are conceptualized as territorially embedded institutional network clusters. The structure of inter‐sectoral relations, understood as interactions (competition, conflict, coordination, cooperation, and control) and flows (information, financial, human, or tangible resources), between the institutional partners of these partnerships is examined. Analysing in detail attributes of network relations, the article identifies structural characteristics of the area‐based partnerships, such as manifestations of how diverse local resources are engaged and how dominance by traditional powerful stakeholders can be overcome by network structures. Structural dynamics and transformations that represent expressions and manifestations of how territorially embedded governance networks are expected to operate are important areas of inquiry in political geography. In this context, the particular empirical and theoretical capacity of SNA is illuminated in this article as part of a broader presentation of primary field data on how network governance and rural development is taking shape in Central and Eastern Europe.     

Innovation Governance Nexuses: Mapping Local Governments' University–Industry Relations and Specialization in High Technology in Sweden

In this paper, we take as a point of departure an assumption that innovation governance matters as a local and regional policy instrument, and consequently we investigate whether local policy can be linked to local industry. To do this, we use Swedish survey data on policy and high-tech agglomeration at the level of municipalities and present evidence on innovation governance nexuses, i.e. locations with greater industrial specialization paired with stronger formalization of innovation governance. Theoretically, this paper follows the literature on regional advantage, but a novel approach is used in which innovation governance literature is linked to that advantage. The findings indicate that these types of policy instruments are useful by creating networks that channel and direct resource and knowledge flows, particularly at locations with higher education institutions.     

旅游产业集群的企业网络属性研究——以平遥古城为例

由于旅游产业的特殊性,旅游产业集群内旅游企业间关系和合作并不是建立在投入-产出的物质联系上,旅游产业集群的企业网络也就有不同于制造业集群的属性和特征。根据四种划分标准可以将旅游产业集群的企业网络分为四种不同的类型;根据对平遥古城的调查和利用社会网络分析方法对数据分析发现,以沟通联系和非正式合作为主要内容的非正式网络为主;位于网络中心位置的主要是旅游核心部门或具有一定行业地位的企业;旅游企业本地网络的范围和结网对象与地理空间及个人关系相关;旅游产业集群的企业网络具有本地化网络对集群创新和竞争力提升有重要影响。     

Estimating the Size of Social Networks

It is notoriously difficult to define and estimate the size of individuals' social networks. Methods are suggested for estimating the size of such networks, using known rates of mobility together with survey data on the number of acquaintances of individuals who have recently moved. Special attention is given to the likely correlation between mobility rates and network size. Estimates are found to be consistent with previous estimates in the literature. The relation of this approach to multiplicity sampling and to “the small-world problem” is also discussed.     

LGBTTs of Turkey between the east and the west – the city and the world through their eyes in the case of Izmir

The profession of city planning in Turkey does not consider groups such as LGBTTs (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transvestite (Cross-dressing)). This study aimed to draw attention to the need for Turkish city planning to consider LGBTT people by presenting the results of a survey conducted in Izmir, one of the leading cities in Turkey. The study examines the reasons that LGBTTs, as ordinary individuals in society, become closeted in the urban sphere and how city planning can overcome this challenging problem of a Muslim country that is between the East and the West and is a European Union (EU) nominee. To examine this delicate issue that has not previously been considered in urban/rural planning studies in Turkey, the main discussion first elaborates the nationwide conception of and attitude towards LGBTTs and a wide range of social and economic variables to assess the quality of LGBTTs’ urban living. Then, based on results of the survey, this study attempts to formulate how an inclusive city can be planned for all groups, including LGBTTs. The scope of this study covers the legal and social status of LGBTTs in Turkey, the overall profile of LGBTT survey respondents, these respondents’ place in Izmir and the specific characteristics of an LGBTT-inclusive city. The unique contribution of this study is that it is the first to examine LGBTT individuals’ demands from the city on the basis of their different socioeconomic profiles.     

Extensions to the Hub Location Problem: Formulations and Numerical Examples

Although a tremendous amount of analytical research is being conducted on the hub location problem, few models exist that extend the number of characteristics found in actual hub-and-spoke networks. Four extensions are presented in this paper: (1) a capacitated network model; (2) a minimum threshold model; (3) a model that endogenously determines the number of open hubs for the network; and (4) a model that incorporates a flow-dependent cost function for the spokes as well as the interhub links. Both the capacitated and the minimum threshold models drop the assumption of a completely interconnected network commonly found in hub location models. Numerical results show that total network costs are often minimized by closing a few interhub links. The third extension is the first known hub location model to determine the optimal number of hubs based on the needs of the network. In this model, the number of open hubs depends on the distribution of flows in the network and how cost effectively the flows can be moved across the network. Previous models that endogenously determined the number of open hubs utilized a fixed cost for establishing each hub in order to limit the number of hubs in the network. The final extension recognizes the potential of all links to amalgamate flows and includes a separate flow-dependent cost function for the spokes in addition to the one for the interhub links. Numerical results are shown for all four models.     

Putting People Back into Networks

This article argues that political scientists should spend more time observing policy networks, using ethnographic tools to capture the meaning of everyday activities. The first section reviews briefly the literature on policy networks, arguing for an ethnographic approach. To show how individual actors construct networks, the second section looks at the experience of consumers, managers and permanent secretaries of living and working in networks. The final section comments on what the fieldwork tells us about both network theory and ethnographic methods.     

Knowledge management in regional innovation networks: The case of Lahti,Finland1

This article focuses on knowledge creation and management in regional innovation networks. A knowledge management system for a regional innovation network is designed. Besides explicit and tacit knowledge, self-transcending knowledge is taken into account within the knowledge management system. In addition, considerations of knowledge vision as well as methods from futures studies are incorporated into the system. An innovation network of the Lahti regional innovation system, Finland, is used as a case example in the article. The article highlights the importance of combining loose network development and an explicit, systematic approach to planning and working on knowledge-related matters within regional innovation networks.