Processes of building cross-border knowledge pipelines

Abstract

Two classic perspectives of knowledge generation across space can be distinguished: one that focuses on localized knowledge networks in communities or clusters and another that investigates how innovation is linked to global knowledge networks of multinational enterprises. The former view has been prevalent in economic geography, the latter in international business. By integrating both perspectives, this paper focuses on the processes of how firms extend their knowledge networks from local to global settings. It develops a four-stage model of building cross-border knowledge pipelines, involving site selection, cross-border knowledge facilitation, local embedding, and cross-border knowledge generation. The model emphasizes the significant role of knowledge facilitators in building cross-border knowledge pipelines and is substantiated in a typical case study of Canadian firms in China.