Journal article

Face-to-face, buzz, and knowledge bases: sociospatial implications for learning, innovation, and innovation policy

Bjorn Asheim, Lars Coenen, Jan Vang

ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING C-GOVERNMENT AND POLICY | SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD | Published : 2007

Abstract

Whilst concurring with the new streams of literature in geography that highlight the importance of face-to-face and 'buzz' in the globalizing learning economy, we argue that this literature is misleading on three interrelated counts. Firstly, it conflates face-to-face and buzz; secondly, it fails to distinguish between the importance of face-to-face and buzz for industries drawing on different knowledge bases; and, thirdly, these conceptual inadequacies lead to an exaggeration of the importance of cities as sites for creativity and innovation, and hence regional competitiveness. By applying an industrial knowledge base approach, we seek to reconstruct an alternative framework that allows for..

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