Global Innovation Networks in the IT and New Media Industry in Beijing, China: The Role of Individuals in SMEs

Sammanfattning: The increasing globalization of innovation activities has generated “globally organized web of complex interactions” for innovation, which are called global innovation networks (GINs). The current study on GINs has extended our understanding of network participants to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from emerging economy, and enlightened us on the drivers behind the participation of global networks. However, little is understood on how SMEs from emerging economy manage to participate in GINs. Due to the limited resources, personal contacts are more often used by SMEs to acquire knowledge. Thus, this thesis takes individual perspective as the starting point to investigate the role of individuals in sustaining the engagement of emerging economy’s SMEs in GINs. Based on the primary data from a case study on 15 SMEs in the IT and new media industry in Beijing, China, results mirror mainly the need to engage in GINs for knowledge sourcing. The reasons behind the case firms’ decision to source knowledge globally further reveal the specific role of individuals as establishing new international linkages and bringing in former international linkages to connect the firms into GINs.