Small Firm Networking and the Internationalisation of Universities: A Multinational Approach

Thanks also to Rob Branston and Jamie Wilson for research assistance. Any remaining errors are the responsibility of the author. The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author and, in particular, they do not represent the views of anybody else involved in L'institute or in the Universities of Birmingham, Ferrara and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. ABSTRACT The paper draws on analysis of industrial economic development to contrast two models of internationalisation in universities. The first is an approach based upon copying and serving corporations. The suggestion is that this would imply strategic failures. In the extreme, it would result in a world with a small number of first tier universities that fail to serve the interests of the communities and societies in which they operate. The second model is analogous to a certain sort of networking amongst small firms, namely multinational webs. What is advocated is research and learning enhanced by widened experiences, understanding and options. Rooted in the college of scholars approach, this second model emphasises democracy, positive freedom and multinationalism. The argument is illustrated and explored through a particular case, an ongoing experience in creating a network and attempting to nurture a multinational web in the field of industrial economic development and public policy.