R&D collaboration: role of ba in knowledge-creating networks

Research and development (R&D) collaboration between universities and business is a vital form of new knowledge creation in knowledge-intensive high-technology business environments. Increasingly, collaboration occurs in networks. A key element in forming these collaborative networks is shared knowledge creation, which is dependent on the ba, the socialisation, externalisation, combination, internalisation (SECI) process, and knowledge assets. This paper argues that ba plays a major role for successful knowledge creation through R&D collaboration between university and business. A ba is a perception of a place – which can be virtual – and a shared purpose. The absence of a ba is a significant barrier to success, but building a ba takes collaborative time and effort. This paper addresses the problems in the successful formation of such networks based on insights from biotechnology, an area where this type of collaboration has been and still is common, but not always successful or unproblematic.