Purpose – This paper extends from the hypothesis that in many economic sectors competitiveness is based on intangibles. Knowledge and innovation are premises of social development and provide critical resources to local economies. Therefore countries with sizeable resources in human capital are likely to provide higher standards of living (Romer, 1989). Our argument draws on Richard Florida’s theory and intends to test the hypothesis according to which the city, in order to maintain its knowledge intensity, must develop a beneficial and attractive urban climate likely to retain creative workers – it must promote creativity and support innovation.
Design/methodology/approach – Our research is exploratory and proposes results from a first test of relevant attraction factors applicable to Montréal. We applied a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews. The investigation examines artistic careers and the features offered by Montréal to visual artists. The survey was conducted largely in the Plateau and Mile End districts. The interview guide has four sections that focus on the career path of highly qualified and/or creative workers, on the city’s strengths and weaknesses, on creativity-enabling aspects and on the city’s features that contribute to retention. Also examined is the influence of self-managed artists centres on the network of stakeholders on the territory
Originality/value – Richard Florida’s theory (2005-2002) has attracted the attention of many cities, but has not been tested much. It is interesting to test as Richard Florida’s theory considers that the city, in order to maintain its knowledge intensity, must develop an attractive urban climate likely to retain creative workers – it must promote creativity and support innovation – and it must offer not only good quality of life but scores of career opportunities, especially in the arts sector which can be seen as a source of innovation. The idea is also that the creative workers and amenities would then attract
knowledge workers.
Practical implications – The test of this hypothesis can have important implications in terms of city management, city infrastructure development as well as factors of attraction to develop in order to attract knowledge workers and creative workers.
Keywords – Creative class, creative workers, artists, local development, cities

Purpose: In today’s world knowledge workers are immersed in a great number of diverse networks. Very often access and exposure to such networks is an indication of how well a given knowledge worker will perform in his or her organization. So far most of the research focused on the formal organizational mechanisms (formal knowledge networks). This is however not enough as noticed by some researchers. There is also a grave need to examine the role played by informal mechanisms. Additionally it is necessary to investigate how the formal and informal knowledge networks operate and interplay between each other.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The research approach is an empirical study. Qualitative approach was used with convenient sampling. Data gathering method was in a form of a questionnaire, with follow up individual interviews. The empirical study was conducted among 70 final year students, who were split into 13 groups with 5/6 members in each group. Students were given an objective to carry out a mine design exercise to the level of a pre-feasibility (PFS) study based on the mineral deposit block model supplied to them.
Originality/Value: The originality and value of this research is as follows – displaying the impact of establishing a formal knowledge network (CoP) on both formal and informal knowledge sharing as well as knowledge integration. Additionally this research reports on the results of an empirical study conducted in South African mining industry and education sector. This can bring another original value as there is in general lack of studies in this area.
Practical implications: This study investigated how the introduction of a Community of Practice (CoP), which is a formal knowledge network, affected the existing informal knowledge networks among the students of the 4th year BSc mining engineering students at one University in South Africa. Moreover it measured the performance of the students that were members of the CoP and those that decided not to (“formally”) participate in them. Additionally it provides an insight into the opportunities of integrating knowledge from formal and informal knowledge networks. The results provided will be interesting for CoP practitioners as well as knowledge networks researchers.
Keywords – Knowledge management, knowledge network, Communities of Practice, knowledge sharing, human resources management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the efforts universities have done during the latest years towards convergence in terms of quality, as well as to reveal the new challenges that they have to face in the contemporary context. Universities have developed continuously according to different internal and external factors integrating into their strategic orientation the role of the university stakeholders. This paper will focus on higher education curricula, in terms of the efforts to increase employability of the students and will highlight the cooperation between university management and different stakeholders in the process of the knowledge management.
Design/methodology/approach – We propose an approach that takes into consideration several research methods: descriptive analysis based on both literature review and on case studies including examples of good practices; comparative analysis; research based on a questionnaire. Students will reveal their perceptions towards the latest movements in the university curricula, market and environment. They will express how they see partnerships between universities and industries, how they feel about the university efforts to help them better integrate on the labour market, what do they feel about the modern technologies involved in the teaching and learning process etc.
Originality/value – This methodology puts in evidence the new challenges in front of the university management, in the context of the 21 st century requirements. The originality of this paper consists of a new theoretical approach of the university concept, in terms of a sustainable organization, which means a new definition for sustainable university in the 21 st century, plus the concept of customer relationship management for universities in terms of student relationship management. At the same time, the value of the paper is also a practical one, reflecting a direct connection between organizations and universities.
Practical implications – The outcomes of the application consist of several practical implications for universities, students and companies. University management will be able to better understand their role in the knowledge management and to pay much more attention towards important changes and strategic movements. Students will be able to support university change in a more active way, for their own benefit. Companies will be able to reconsider the relationship with universities in terms of mutual advantage.
Keywords – sustainable organization, knowledge management, stakeholders, employability

Purpose – Being Mexico a Latin-American country located in North America, strengthens the fact of not being considered as part of the group of countries limited to the core Latin-American characteristics, but also without the characteristics of our developed neighbor countries of the North, Canada and USA. This vagueness also characterizes the inequality gap in the 32 states of Mexico, were the northern states present a high index of development and quality life, and the south region is highly marginalized, though with abundant natural resources (i.e., water and land for agriculture) (CCYTET, 2005). In 2004, the Inclusive Commission for Development was established, which main goal is setting the grounds for development in the South-Southeast Region of Mexico. It has been ten years now, were the actions of this Commission are retaken, and the new governor of the state of Tabasco invites the rest of the states to develop a comprehensive development plan for Mexico (CONAGO, 2013). Design/methodology/approach – Given the characteristics of this research, we will use a qualitative approach. Our data collection methods will be interviews and focus groups. Because, this is an exploratory research, the design of the model will be based on the experiences and insights of the main actors involved. We will first identify the states that conform the South-Southeast Region. Secondly, we will establish communication channels with the main higher education institutions of this particular region. Every institution will name a key actor, preferably a local expert in management and planning in higher education, and an action plan will be designed to transform the region into a Knowledge Region (Carrillo F. , 2005). In these meetings, a task-force group will be pointed out to elaborate a local analysis of each state and the capacity-building of the institutions. This analysis will consider the cultural, social, economic, environmental factors, and the key actors that are involved in the design and development of policies that effectively integrate sustainability issues in strategy, processes and growth trajectories for the South-Southeast region of Mexico in order to become a Knowledge Region (ITESM, 2003). The key aspects that the Development Commission established were development and economic growth, regional competitiveness, inclusion and social cohesion, development and environmental sustainability, urban and rural development, and social infrastructure. Originality/value – It has been proved that developing countries have changed their economic status when they orient their actions into knowledge, creating true Knowledge Region, and cities devoted to develop any services or products of the region, and actually becoming world innovation nodes of local expertise of the specific region. In Mexico there is only ten experiences of Knowledge Cities and only one is fully developed; because of the individual characteristics of the places, establishing a region instead of a city will be more beneficial for the states that are embedded in that region, achieving a comprehensive development and better quality life (World Bank, 2012). Practical implications – Every state of the Region has Public Universities that have progressed in their academic development and parallel have worked together by entailment or academic exchanges. Through a committee composed by these higher academic institutions, these universities coordinate the actions to elaborate the comprehensive development plan for the South-Southeast Region of Mexico.
Keywords – South-Southeast Region of Mexico, Region of Knowledge, Higher educational institutions, Planning and Entailment

Purpose –Advanced web technology offers possibilities for blending two complementary sources of knowledge, academic and entrepreneurial, within a single web-based framework. The main goal of our project is to establish an open educational resources (OER) platform and network for fostering technology enhanced learning (TEL) within HE institutions and enterprises in the Western Balkans. Another objective is to provide training for members of universities and enterprises for production of OER materials. The third objective is to produce materials in various languages, in video, audio and textual format, supported by electronic terminological resources, services, and functionalities for searching and browsing. Design/methodology/approach – The TEL platform consists of tools and resources: learning, language and implementation resources. Among the tools some are available open source and commercial tools, some are in-house tools developed by the University of Belgrade Human Language Technology Group. Learning resources are both academic: course planning materials, video lectures, thematic content, and entrepreneurial: case studies, best practice examples, expert presentations and software demonstrations. Language resources supporting the multilinguality of the platform, terminology and its search and browse functions are lexical and textual resources and grammars. Implementation resources consists of best practice design principles and licensing tools to promote OER. Originality/value – Designing usable, effective and interactive TEL environments is a demanding task, which requires creativity and a significant amount of expertise. Especially when knowledge is elicited from two essentially different environments, the academia and the enterprises. The need for multilinguality of OER is a consequence of the novel holistic approach that takes into account all the languages a learner may use. Hence the language support system within our TEL platform, which provides for OER in different languages and allows learners in a specific domain to get acquainted with domain terminology both in their mother tongue and in other languages. Practical implications –The proposed TEL platform opens a new dimension in OER by blending two major sources of knowledge: the academia and the enterprise. It thus contributes to the important task of preparing university students for their future jobs, but also enables them to improve their academic knowledge after graduating, by offering them a live-long learning opportunity. Finally, it supports mastering of educational materials and expert terminology in different languages, in contrast to more traditional approaches that look at one language at a time.
Keywords – Technology enhanced learning, e-Learning, Open courseware, Open educational resources

Purpose: This article aims at discussing the problems faced by Higher Education institutions (HEI) in rising economies (South Africa is provided as an example here). Such institutions usually have to cope with ever increasing number of prospective graduates. Like most countries around the world South Africa is also confronted with massification of Higher Education (HE). Moreover local conditions affect the potential strategies for development. Nonetheless there are not enough studies devoted to how such strategies can be successfully applied in rising economies such as South Africa. This study fills this gap in knowledge. Design/methodology/approach: The preferable research approach identified for this research is theoretical approach with comprehensive literature review. This approach is necessary in order to establish what the trends around the world are with respect to massification of education since the late 80s. Additionally in the case of South Africa it is necessary to consider the situation before and after the demise of apartheid in 1994. This will be done in order to model a solution which could lead to a win-win situation. In the end this could lead to a formulation of a model to be applied in practice. Originality/value: This methodology puts in evidence the uniqueness of the rising economy (based on South African experience) approach to massification of HE. In the case of rising economies a unique solution has to be found to the problems such as accessing HE and low graduation rates. It stands to reason that by allowing students in HE, failure to graduate within the prescribed period it is to the detriment of all stakeholders. The solution proposed here conforms to a pragmatic approach to a knowledge economy rather than financial or social approach which tend to highlight only one perspective of a multi-facet problem. Practical implications: The practical implications of this study derive from the fact that the knowledge-based strategies for sustainable education in rising economies will be discussed. These strategies are of vital interest to HE practitioners, government planners as well as prospective students. Moreover this study will provide the outcomes of the application in HEI in South Africa as a case study. The crucial problem is that if such institutions are to become self-sustained, the gap between accessing HE and graduation rates must be closed. If many students access HE and few graduate the institution in the end will not survive.
Keywords – Accessing Higher Education, Rising Economies, educational sustainability, graduation rates, Knowledge-based strategies

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyse corporate universities as advanced models of knowledge management in a local development perspective. To achieve this purpose the paper investigates the expansion of this phenomenon in Western Europe and emphasizes the role of corporate social responsibility in influencing the diffusion of corporate universities in this region. Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyses the relationship between the firm and the external environment through corporate universities in the perspective of a sustainable and knowledge-based local development. Notably, we refer to the so-called “stakeholder” corporate university, which is a model that entails an active role of the corporate university in the fulfilment of fiduciary duties imposed by corporate social responsibility. Then, we summarize the main features of European corporate universities based on a review of the existing literature. Finally, we present the main results of a survey on Italian corporate universities. Originality/value –Our paper puts in evidence the existence of a model of corporate universities in Western Europe that is partly different from the one practiced in the United States. European companies do not only consider the corporate university as a tool for developing and integrating a number of internal organisational processes, but also for keeping a close relationship with all relevant stakeholders and connecting their activity to corporate social responsibility practices. Accordingly, in the European perspective, corporate universities can also be viewed as original educational agencies within local systems of production. Data on Italian corporate universities confirm this suggestion. Practical implications – Practical implications are twofold. First, corporate universities are required to interact with external educational agencies, notably traditional universities. This perspective would be particularly suitable in local systems of production where the direct relationship between educational agencies and corporate universities may feed university-industry cooperation. Second, a corporate university oriented to corporate social responsibility would favour the relationship with the relevant local community and support the role of institutions in shaping regional economic change. This evolution may address the increased density of economic and business interactions through the extension of learning processes outside firm’s boundaries.
Keywords – knowledge, local development, corporate universities, corporate social responsibility

Purpose – Urban Living Labs (ULLs) are emerging as user driven, open innovation environments characterized by a strong emphasis on knowledge creation. In ULLs innovation arises by the activation of collective awareness and individual learning processes, which ultimately lead to large-scale behavioural change. How this takes place is often the result of complex and concurrent dynamics of several distinct elements of the socio-spatial system that we see embedded in a city or neighbourhood. This paper aims at exploring the link between knowledge production and behavioural change, using concept of “triple loop learning” (Tosey et al., 2012) as theoretical lens. Design/methodology/approach – How triple loop learning occurs in ULLs is the fundamental question of our research. There must contexts transformed into proper learning environments, where people reflect together while individually engaging on the co-design of solutions that are then collectively implemented and assessed. In order to explore the LLs potential for urban innovation, the authors adopt the SECI model (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) to map “triple loop learning” and link learning cycles to behavioural changes referring to the results of the Periphèria project funded under the CIP (ICT-PSP) program. Originality/value – Innovation systems have been, and still are, widely studied and analysed in the perspective of sustainability. Similarly, it is widely shared that cities, and in general urban systems, are the most promising environments to respond to the global challenge of sustainability by appropriately developed solutions. Despite the above, little attention has been paid to the links between innovation and durable behavioural change in urban communities. The paper aims at filling in this gap by highlighting the importance of shared experiments, typical of ULLs, in driving (triple-loop) learning processes able to make innovation sustainable, from the individual up to the collective scale. Practical implications – The paper aims at strengthening the value of ULLs and social innovation in support of public service improvement and/or radical change in groups and societies. The resulting methodological framework can be easily translated by public administrators in the perspective of public services innovation. ULLs, in fact, are demonstrating to be highly productive environments, dense in opportunities for collective learning: here learning is not limited to the most active citizens but also involves local government representatives, who can continuously check their own way to interpret public roles by testing new opportunities for sustainable development together with the citizens, thus becoming direct agents of innovation.
Keywords – Urban Living Labs, Social Innovation, Public Service, Collective Learning, Behavioural Change

Purpose – This paper presents the preliminary results of a research aimed at mapping the knowledge interactions between universities and industries in Southern Italy. We focused on a specific type of knowledge interactions, namely “research services”, that are activities that firms give to universities and that are regulated by specific contracts establishing objectives, deliverables and available financial resources. They include both research contracts and consulting activities. Despite the fact that research services, especially in technological departments, cover a significant percentage of the research funding in universities and results of these activities are also useful for the firms, allowing them to solve specific technological problems, scarce attention has been reserved to them by researchers. Design/methodology/approach – Research services are characterized by high relational involvement of the parties, which strongly collaborate over more limited period of time if compared to other knowledge interaction types. To study this phenomenon, we adopted case studies approach. Two big Italian universities were the focus of our research. Main aim was the analysis and comparison of different recent “research services” activities carried out in the last two years. In the first phase of this explorative research, researchers from engineering department from University of Naples Federico II and from Politecnico of Bari and entrepreneurs that interacted with those researchers were interviewed. In the second phase, a cross-case analysis was developed, aimed at identifying recurring categories of data in all the analyzed case studies, namely variables affecting interactions positively, from the researchers’ and firm’s standpoints; and suggestions to facilitate the diffusion of research service initiatives between universities and firms, as expressed by firms and researchers. Originality/value – This methodology puts in evidence some interesting elements that can contribute to the success and growth of knowledge interactions between firms and universities. Practical implications – The outcomes of the analysis provide some managerial implications that can be useful for agencies supporting the innovation diffusion among firms and firms systems, for defining new policies and action plants aimed at making the knowledge interaction faster and more effective and therefore improve the innovation processes within firms.
Keywords – Knowledge interactions, University-industry relations

Purpose – Intellectual capital (IC) plays a crucial role in the university sector, which could be considered a proper knowledge institution (Ramirez and Gordillo, 2014). In Italy IC report is not mandatory for universities. Nevertheless, several institutions include IC information within their social reports (Ricci et al., 2014). The purpose of the research is twofold. First, it aims to investigate the amount and nature of IC voluntary disclosure in Italian universities’ social reports, as well as to examine the influence of the size of universities in IC reporting. Second, it aims to examine the internal perspective of Italian universities’ General Directors on IC management and disclosure. Design/methodology/approach – This study answers to Bezhani’s (2010) call for comparative research, by applying the same methodological approach. Content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004) has been used to determine the amount and the nature of IC disclosure in a group of 17 Italian university social reports issued before February 2013. In addition, an on-line questionnaire has been submitted to all university General Directors, in order to investigate the internal perspective of Italian universities on IC disclosure and the opportunity of establishing an IC mandatory report in universities. Originality/value – To our knowledge, no previous research has been conducted on IC reporting with regard to Italian universities yet. Thus, the current paper contributes to creating new expertise with concern to IC reporting in the university sector. Also, it gives insights into General Directors’ views on IC management and disclosure as well as on IC mandatory reporting. Finally, the study fosters international comparative research on IC reporting in universities by providing the Italian picture. Practical implications – This work encourages Italian universities to enquire on the benefits achieved by IC reporting. Moreover, the paper gives recommendations for additional IC reporting indicators with regard to the university sector, in order to provide a comprehensive assessment of IC assets. Furthermore, the study prompts policy-makers to enquire on the utility of mandatory IC reporting by universities. In doing so, it opens up new horizons, both for future research and policies.
Keywords – Intellectual Capital, University, Social Report

Purpose – Reverse flows consist of material, financial, information, knowledge, services and waste flows and should be handled as the resources that have more or less tangible and intangible value. Without the understanding of reverse flows as the valuable resources both efficiency and effectiveness problems arise that have negative impact on sustainable development of business. The primary goal of every enterprise is to minimise the emergence of some of these flows (especially material ones) since significant part of them turn into the waste for disposal. This means that enterprises should follow zero waste strategy. There are several business functions as well as fields of study which role is to help to follow such strategy. Nevertheless the statistics concerning the growing volumes of reverse flows and especially waste (e.g. municipal and industrial waste) show that despite the effect of consumerism there is the potential gap in the needed integration of those functions and fields of study. The purpose of this paper is to gain better understanding of the interrelationships among several business functions which integration supported with appropriate management approach should lead to zero waste performance. Design of the conceptual framework with the knowledge management as the basis for the integration and some empirical evidence of its functionality are presented in this paper.
Keywords – Reverse logistics, Knowledge management, Quality management, Innovation management, Zero waste performance

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to create a comprehensive review of existing research in the area of knowledge management of waste management. This study is part of a larger research project, which is aimed on knowledge management of reverse logistics. Waste management can be considered as a related field to reverse logistics, therefore the ways how the knowledge is managed in waste management can be important for reverse logistics as well. As the research regarding knowledge management of reverse logistics is undeveloped, it can be more developed in the field of waste management. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on qualitative content analysis which is appropriate for concept generation. The concepts were generated from knowledge management studies in the field of waste management. The sample of studies was created as follows. First, citation index databases (Web of Science, SCOPUS) were searched on keywords (knowledge management and waste management). Second, results of this query were refined according to content of abstracts. After that, refined set of articles was analysed by full text qualitative content analysis method. The analysis revealed categories which were compared with research topics of knowledge management and waste management. Originality/value – This study is the first literature review of knowledge management of waste management. It enables further research of the topic by introducing a basic framework of concepts (codes) of knowledge management of waste management. The framework can serve as a starting point for future knowledge management research in waste management field. Practitioners can use the results of this study as a general body of knowledge of concepts of knowledge management of waste management. Practical implications – The outcomes of this study have several implications. First, knowledge management research of waste management is significantly undeveloped. This should imply increase in studying of several topics, such as organizational learning, knowledge sharing and creation, knowledge management of re-use of waste and minimisation of was. Second, this study revealed misinterpretation of some crucial terms regarding knowledge management. Some analysed studies used terms data, information and knowledge interchangeably or did not defined the terms. This fact can lead to misinterpretation of the whole study and creates confusion in the research field.
Keywords – Knowledge management, Qualitative content analysis, Waste management, Review, Categories

Purpose – The paper explores the relationship between three constructs: customer orientation of reverse logistics, knowledge management and effectiveness of reverse logistics. Reverse logistics is generally seen as an instrument for sustainable development due to its ambition to minimize the extent of waste “generated” in supply chains. The role of knowledge management is investigated in this field. Design/methodology/approach – The explorative research is based on primary data that were collected through personal interviews with representatives of 162 companies operating on the Czech market. The majority of presented findings are based on subjective statements of informants due to the fact that many questions asked for the data that companies don’t measure, collect and reprocess. Majority of the questions were constructed as scales; the data were reprocessed by means of uni-, bi-, and multivariate statistical analysis. Originality/value –The originality of the paper stems from the fact that it tests the relationship among maturity of knowledge management, customer orientation and effectiveness of reverse logistic by means of a structural model. The more elaborated knowledge management is found to be related to the effectiveness of reverse logistics and its customer orientation. The paper also shows that knowledge management is linked with other motives related to reverse logistics. Practical implications – The empirical study suggests that effort in application of knowledge management might bring also benefits for companies in the field of reverse logistics. Traditionally, it is accepted that knowledge is important in the inspection and sorting activities of reverse logistics, when the material flow (including waste) is analysed and then dispatched for economically efficient reprocessing. The data shows that the importance of knowledge management in the field of reverse logistics might be crucial for tactical and strategic decisions too.
Keywords – reverse logistics, waste management, knowledge management, empirical research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold. Understanding if knowledge management can help local governments develop more effective environmental policies and, if so, to provide some guidelines to increase the uptake of knowledge in the policy process. This requires discovering the recurring good or bad knowledge management practices within some zero waste initiatives undertaken by municipalities. The human and material resources available for the local authorities are obviously scarce; therefore, being able to identify some useful elements for the success of an environmental policy can save time and resources, and, above all, can save irreversible damage to the environment (i.e. the use of landfill practices). Design/methodology/approach – Research strategy is a qualitative case study approach, using a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. We used existing data from previous research done by Robert Krausz for his own PhD thesis and official documents available on websites dedicated to zero waste initiatives. The rationale for using existing data is the perfect coincidence of the study population and also the unit of analysis. The study population is the complete set of local government zero waste programs which exist, or have ever existed; the unit of analysis is an individual zero waste program taken from this population. Results are analysed using specific theoretical perspectives. Originality/value – This paper puts forward evidence for the value of the knowledge management discipline in the design and implementation of a zero waste strategy. It is known that the implementation of all municipal policies is laborious, time-consuming and expensive, so it may be useful to know in advance all the determinants of the success of a policy. When we talk about environmental issues, it becomes even more important considering that some environmental problems are irreversible (e.g. the pollution of an aquifer in proximity to a landfill); the failure of an environmental policy could have disastrous consequences.
Practical implications – The outcomes of the application is related to the fact that municipal waste management is one of the key areas of municipal environmental policy and is also the item on which citizens spend most resources. Therefore, for a good environmental policy a wide range of tools needs to be used, including knowledge management discipline, to obtain ever improving results. There are many municipalities who have adopted a zero waste strategy and many of those who have adopted one have benefited from it, considering all possible factors critical to the success of this strategy.
Keywords – Knowledge management, public sector, knowledge to policy, municipal solid waste, zero waste strategies

Purpose – The importance of eco-innovations for industry has been rising exponentially in recent years. However, even if recent trends show that firms are increasingly committed to eco-innovations, there is little knowledge on why and how companies integrate environmental sustainability into new product development. In this paper we offer a detailed analysis of the drivers of eco-innovation in the wine industry. We account for environmental regulation, demand factors and firm-specific and technology-push factors. Design/Methodology/Approach – The empirical evidence is based on an original questionnaire survey carried out on Italian wine producers. 334 questionnaires were returned and the response rate was of 16.5% and the response rate was of 16.5%. We distinguished between two different types of environmental innovation: cleaner production (CP) and end-of-pipe technologies (EOP). A set of logit and ordered logit models helped in estimating the effects of environmental regulation, demand factors and firm-specific and technology-push factors on CP and EOP innovations. Originality/Value- In this paper we attempt to respond to some recent challenges set in the economic literature adding knowledge on why and how companies integrate environmental sustainability into their production. The analysis of a specific industry and product allows to control for cross-industry differences which are common in other empirical works on eco-innovation. Practical Implications – Our results confirm the importance of regulatory aspects and networking across the supply-chain for eco-innovation. These factors determine to a large extent firms’ adoption of an ecological profile. The empirical evidence confirms the appropriateness of the recent developments in the EU agenda with respect to ecoinnovation.

Purpose – Major challenges of knowledge transfer processes in cross-disciplinary projects result from differing disciplinary terminologies and from work groups which are located at different locations. From a representational viewpoint, visual media such as pictorial images, drawings, or sketches are widely used for cross-disciplinary communication to bridge these gaps in order to build a joint understanding and support a computer mediated collaboration of spatially separated work groups. Originality/value – Concerning the described settings, the paper discusses the importance and presents practices of representation and structures in Computer-Supported Collaborative Work as common ground in cross-disciplinary processes using examples related to a) the reconstruction and visualisation of “lost” buildings in humanities and b) spatial-based generic configurations inspired by architectural theory and the design of public spaces. Design/methodology/approach – To cope with these challenges the authors combined both theory-driven and empirical methodological approaches for research and performed three stages of analysis. The first stage was a content analysis for publications to examine current usage and production scenarios of virtual 3D models in cultural heritage, its outcome and purposes. A second stage included four case studies to examine aspects of communication about the reconstructed architecture and their evolution during a project creation process. A third stage investigates aspects of the usage of architecture as media and common ground of cross-disciplinary understanding comparing sociological approaches to virtual and mediated spaces. Practical implications – The article will provide practical implications on how practices of visual representation and the usage of structures such as architecture as common ground will foster cross-disciplinary processes.
Keywords – Visual representations, knowledge transfer, Computer-Supported Collaborative Work, cross-disciplinary process

As an extract of an ongoing cooperative project of Wrocław University of Technology and TU Dresden, the paper explores the emergence of innovation and asks whether innovation can be to any extent predicted spatially. Cellular Automata (CA) have been chosen for this study as the spatial modelling tool. The goal is to understand the nature of the spread of innovations in a limited space, and to equip the CA with information needed to calibrate it to actual, real-world processes. The CA spaces are formed by cells with specific characteristics concerning their absorptivity, or attractiveness for innovators. In addition, information is given how the agents behave and act depending on the nature of their innovation. Purpose – The final goal of the research is to examine the possibilities of forecasting the appearance of innovations with the use of spatial, architectural, and economic data. Design/methodology/approach – Cellular automata were created and tested. As input, categorised data of selected entities were gathered and organised into a matrix. The CA were calibrated in order to recreate the historical processes described in the antecedent research. Originality/value – The assumption of the study is that well-calibrated CA can model real-world knowledge diffusion processes with acceptable precision. This methodology allows for credible – numerical and spatial – estimation of the likelihood of the appearance of innovation inside a specified branch of economy and inside a specified area. Practical implications – As a starting point for extended research, the study wants to establish a scientific basis for knowledge and innovation-based spatial planning, having implications for economic development, urban management, and policy-making.
Keywords – Innovation, Knowledge diffusion, Cellular Automata, Environment

Presenting findings from a knowledge management project in a German science-toengineering research cluster, the paper addresses issues of cluster formation, cooperation, and innovation. In the project, a novel knowledge management approach was developed that stresses activity from within the organization (“Embedded Knowledge”), and combines scientific expertise with strategic-methodical knowhow (“Synthesizing Knowledge”). Integrating measures of knowledge and innovation management and technology transfer, a “Knowledge Architecture Toolbox” was set up and applied. The project not only serves as a case-study for the idea transfer from basic research to engineering, but also presents a prototype for design-oriented knowledge management in large science and technology clusters.
Keywords – Cluster, embedded knowledge, knowledge architecture

Cities are perhaps the most effective basis for innovation, as urban societies have wellestablished mechanisms of feedback, amplification, and selection to support creative production from their vast resources of human and intellectual capital. Throughout history, cities have been a natural pool of inventions and ideas. Especially in the case of social innovations, urban societies play a central role. This paper asks: How can inventions that originate from within a society effectively evolve into innovations for the respective society as a user and recipient? The model called USIP (“Urban Social Innovation Process”) put forward in this text defines “Social Innovation” from a comprehensively social perspective: it places society as an active player (inventor) already at the beginning of the process, and then introduces “innovation adolescence” and “diffusion” as subsequent key mechanisms. The paper shows central deficits of innovation discourses due to their limitation to economic processes, and how in favour of market absorption, social absorption had been widely neglected. The article concludes with a set of hypotheses how urban social innovation can be empirically investigated in order to derive applications for urban and economic development.
Keywords – Social innovation, urbanity, innovation adolescence

This paper discuss how regional economic renewal can be achieved within a region that is highly dependent on a traditional low value added industry with relatively low technology level and the competitiveness of which has declined, over a short period of time, to a level where economic viability is questionable. The approach is built around government intervention to reduce the information asymmetry between local players and global state-of-the-art whilst simultaneously instigating a culture shift enabling cluster development for the implementation of identified transformation pathways.
The project involved the establishment of a policy framework with a balanced supply side tool, information provision and demand side tool portfolio. This was then followed by a mapping of the local value network and its participating actors to identify their present status as compared to world best practice. Following on from this, there was construction of alternative strategic technology roadmaps which differed on the raw material lenses used, time lines, competence levels and investments. In parallel with this there was communication and engagement processes to enable a self-organised cultural shift towards a situation conducive to initiating industry led clusters. The early successes are identified as well as indicators for the desired trajectory being followed.