Knowledge dynamics , coherence and communities within networks : the “ Telecom Valley ® ” case

Knowledge creation is nowadays a major issue for firms that want to be competitive. We are in a new era, where knowledge plays a dynamic role in innovation processes and corporate performance. The nature of the firm is changing: Kogut & Zander (1996) define firms as social communities specialized in knowledge transfer and creation. What makes firms superior to markets is not their capacity for reducing costs, but their capacity for creating and transferring knowledge. Organizations are not only considered as knowledgeprocessing systems but above all as knowledge-creating systems (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995).