Networking, communication and proximity in high-technology enterprise collaboration

The present study addresses inter-firm collaboration of high-technology enterprises in Northern Finland through studying the formation of their collaboration, use of different modes of communication and attempting to find out how proximity or distance affects collaboration. The role of social networks and formation of the community of practice in inter-firm collaboration was explored through these issues. The results showed that collaboration partners were most commonly found through existing contacts or within personal contacts by using social networks and only rarely through active searching.