Calls for papers

 

International Journal of Business and Globalisation

 

Special Issue on: "Innovation and Entrepreneurship Networks as Drivers of Global Competitiveness"

Guest Editors:
Vanessa Ratten, La Trobe University, Australia
Joao J. Ferreira, University of Beira Interior, Portugal

Entrepreneurship and innovation are key factors that trigger global economic development (e.g. Dana, 2001; Dana, Etemad and Wright, 2008; Porter and Stern, 2001; Wong and Autio, 2005; Nordqvist and Melin, 2010). This is due to their ability to play an important stakeholder role in facilitating networks and contributing to overall economic growth rates (Kim et al., 2012).

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) reports that there are a number of advantages associated with entrepreneurship and innovation including the creation of new companies from investment in local economies, creating new jobs, increasing competitiveness and developing the instruments needed for the establishment and continuation of innovative companies. This means that entrepreneurship spurs economic growth and employment by supporting a competitive and globalised market infrastructure (Amorós and Bosma 2014; Etemad, Wright and Dana, 2001; Wright and Dana, 2003).

Part of this support in entrepreneurial ecosystems comes from the relationship between network business activities and productivity, which is driven by the competitive aggressiveness orientation of firms in local, regional and international economies (Dana, Korot and Tovstiga, 2005; Ratten, 2014). This means that having an entrepreneurial and innovative capacity is important in encouraging individual-, firm- and government-led cooperation and networking in order to help guide and explain regional competitiveness (Ferreira and Fernandes, 2013).

Some regional networks have increasingly had to deal with global competition posed by other industry clusters (Semlinger, 2008). In addition, the behaviour and performance of firms depends on endogenous factors and also on their relational networks in the local and international marketplace (Lundberg and Andresen, 2011). Therefore, it is important to analyse the potential of businesses from a human and social capital perspective by understanding how their resources are affected by sales, production and efficiency goals (Dana, Korot and Tovstiga, 2003; Turok 2004).

Sometimes this can be best understood by examining the networks and knowledge relationships that exist in a region as a way to evaluate their competitiveness and comparative global standard (Lawton Smith and Bagchi-Sen, 2010). This includes taking into account regional stakeholders such as academia, industry and government, which together determine the importance of cooperative networks in facilitating regional competitiveness (Farinha et al., 2014).

The aim of this special issue is to focus on how networks and knowledge can help firms increase their global competitiveness by fostering innovative and entrepreneurial behaviour.

References

• Amorós J.E., Bosma N. (2014) Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: 2013 Global Report. 1-104.
• Dana, L-P. (2001) 'Introduction: Networks, internationalization and policy', Small Business Economics, 16: 57-62.
• Dana, L-P., Korot, L. and Tovstiga, G. (2003) 'Toward a transnational techno-culture: An empirical investigation of knowledge management', p 183-205, In Etemad, H. and Wright, R. Eds, Globalisation and Entrepreneurship: Policy and Strategy Perspectives, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, United Kingdom.
• Dana, L-P., Korot, L. and Tovstiga, G. (2005) 'A cross national comparison of knowledge management practices', International Journal of Manpower, 26(1): 10-22.
• Dana. L-P., Etemad, H. and Wright, R.W. (2008) 'Toward a paradigm of symbiotic entrepreneurship', International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 5(2): 109-126.
• Etemad, H., Wright, R. and Dana, L-P. (2001) 'Symbiotic international business networks: Collaboration between small and large firms', Thunderbird International Business Review, 43(4): 481-499.
• Kim, Y., Kim, W., Yang, T. (2012) The effect of the triple helix system and habitat on regional entrepreneurship: Empirical evidence from the U.S. Res Policy 41:154-166. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2011.08.003.
• Lawton-Smith, H., Bagchi-Sen, S, (2010) Triple helix and regional development: a perspective from Oxfordshire in the UK. Technol Anal Strateg Manag 22:805-818. doi: 10.1080/09537325.2010.511143.
• Farinha, L., Ferreira, J., Gouveia, J. (2014). Networks of Innovation and Competitiveness: a Triple Helix Case Study. Journal of the Knowledge Economy. DOI 10.1007/s13132-014-0218-3. (Onlinefirst). http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13132-014-0218-3.
• Fernandes, C., Ferreira, J. (2013) Knowledge Spillovers: Cooperation between Universities and KIBS, R&D in Management, 43(5): 461-472. DOI: 10.1111/radm.12023.
• Lundberg, H,, Andresen, E. (2012) Cooperation among companies, universities and local government in a Swedish context. Ind Mark Manag 41:429-437. doi: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2011.06.017.
• Nordqvist, M., Melin, L. (2010) Entrepreneurial families and family firms. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development,22:211-239. doi: 10.1080/08985621003726119.
• Porter M., Stern S. (2001) MIT Sloan Management Review; Summer 2001; 42, 4; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 28-36.
• Ratten, V. (2014) "Encouraging collaborative entrepreneurship in developing countries: the current challenges and a research agenda", Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Vol. 6 Iss: 3: 298-308 Semlinger, K. (2008) Cooperation and competition in network governance: regional networks in a globalised economy. Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 20:547-560. doi: 10.1080/08985620802462157.
• Turok I (2004) Cities, Regions and Competitiveness. Regional Studies 38:1069-1083. doi: 10.1080/0034340042000292647.
• Wong, P.K., Ho, Y.P., Autio, E. (2005) Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth: Evidence from GEM data. Small Business Economics 24:335-350. doi: 10.1007/s11187-005-2000-1 Wright, R.W. and Dana, L.P. (2003) 'Changing paradigms of international entrepreneurship strategy', Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 1: 135-152.

Subject Coverage
Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Entrepreneurial character of organisational knowledge practices
• Entrepreneurial firms in geographic regions around the world
• Collective sharing of knowledge and decision making to help global competitiveness
• Cultural beliefs, values and behaviours of entrepreneurial global firms
• Cooperation and competition of firms and symbiotic relationships
• Coopetition amongst firms fostering global competitiveness
• Regional and sectoral innovation systems
• Measurement of innovation management performance
• Regional networking in triple helix spaces
• Collaboration and knowledge transfer between university-industry
• Global competitiveness

Notes for Prospective Authors

Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. (N.B. Conference papers may only be submitted if the paper has been completely re-written and if appropriate written permissions have been obtained from any copyright holders of the original paper).

All papers are refereed through a peer review process.

All papers must be submitted online. To submit a paper, please read our Submitting articles page.

Important Dates

Manuscripts due by: 30 October, 2015