یادگیری فنی برای توسعه کارآفرینی در اقتصاد دانش: مطالعات موردی و درس های آموخته شده

Innovative technologies are reshaping the global economic landscape, by improving speed and ease of communications and interaction among the various economic actors involved in the productive cycle. In this paper, we discuss the role that technological learning and information and communication technologies (ICT) play in fostering entrepreneurial development in the Knowledge Economy and support our conceptual constructs with a series of case studies from developed, developing and transitioning economies. We compare and contrast entrepreneurial initiatives, policies and practices and the experience of ways and means to promote learning and entrepreneurship such as global/local (glocal), real–virtual incubator networks (G-RVIN) and other real and virtual infra-structures and infra-technologies (such as Innovation Networks and Knowledge Clusters or INKC) and derive lessons learned for policy makers, practitioners and entrepreneurs.

This paper addresses the roles that technological learning and information and communication technologies (ICT) play as catalysts and accelerators of knowledge creation, diffusion and use in the process of economic development. The areas of research that this paper draws upon and contributes to are: (a) economic development (b) technological learning and knowledge transfer, absorption and use (c) technological innovation and entrepreneurship Specifically, we provide a conceptual framework that may serve as an integrative bridge between macro- and micro-ideas and themes such as identifying optimal practices and pathways in economic development as a result of a more functional congruence of stages of economic development with technology and learning strategies for small and medium enterprise (SME) formation and growth The cases we use to corroborate our arguments are drawn from a number of countries and sectors in developing countries with a variety of profiles in terms of the degree, scope and scale of the role that knowledge modalities and processes play in the development enterprise. These cases serve to illustrate vectors, actors and crucibles of entrepreneurial development such as business incubators and networks thereof, technology and knowledge clusters and innovation networks including agglomerations of large/small, public/private entities and partnerships focused on knowledge creation, diffusion and use. The central motivation for this paper is our belief that the ‘goodness of fit’ between the stage an economy is in and the development strategy adopted (including the use of technology and role of knowledge) determine the quality, speed, and sustainability of development (see Fig. 1). In this context, our efforts focus on learning from development experiences, in particular related to SME formation and growth, to develop a methodology for establishing an optimal match typology between development stage and development strategy. This approach is partly inspired by the research findings of Robert Solow among others: “Nobel laureate Robert Solow published his theory of growth in a couple of articles in 1956 and 1957. His conclusion surprised many, and still surprises many today: investment in machinery cannot be a source of growth in the long run. Solow argued that the only possible source of growth in the long run is technological change.” (Easterly, 2002: 47). Another conceptual pillar and source of motivation for our efforts, is the work of Joseph Schumpeter on ‘creative destruction’ and technological change which was again listed as the pre-eminent driver of the process of sustainable economic growth “which incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one. The process of Creative Destruction is the essential fact about capitalism.” (Schumpeter, 1942: 82). We consider entrepreneurial initiative as one of the main—if not the main—ways to drive technological change and catalyze and accelerate sustainable growth, hence our motivation to better learn from past entrepreneurial initiatives aimed towards fostering economic development.

Regardless of externalities, each organization seeks to sustain itself in competition and cooperation with other entities that depend on the same finite pool of resources. The fundamental challenge is the very heart of economic discipline: the management and allocation of scarce resources. The advantage of knowledge economy is that knowledge grows by sharing—donors do not forfeit what they know when passing knowledge to recipients, who in turn can share with others. The greatest phenomenon of knowledge-based economics is this multiplier effect: sharing knowledge capital actually creates more of it. Research and innovation must be managed today to secure sustainability for tomorrow. Open innovation is a policy of collaboration. Companies must manage intellectual property (IP) to manage research: they need to access external IP; they need to profit from internal IP. Researchers must be knowledge brokers as well as knowledge generators. Companies can profit from one another's IP. No one company has claim to all the smart people in a field. Competition and collaboration can and must co-exist. Open innovation is knowledge diffusion and recombination, producing the ‘seed corn’ of tomorrow's breakthroughs. Researchers must recognize their own potential, and be able to articulate possibilities to a receptive management for further development (Chesbrough, 2001). Routti (2003) reinforces this claim that science-driven academic research is vital to returns. Scientists decide the basic research; industrialists decide the applied R&D. Management culture must encourage risk-taking. Fear of failure suppresses creativity and innovation, which undermines competitiveness. Failure is a great educator. Institutionally, a deviation from plan is an irregularity, but competitively it is creative, innovative, exploratory work. Creativity is essential. There is tremendous ‘white space’ in market opportunities—new products, processes, markets, and unknowns. Strategic community creation is a calculated alliance of many stakeholders to manage the risk and facilitate adoption. The priorities of new venture formation in the knowledge economy are: ICT and Internet access; linkages to investors and lenders; formation of lean management and advisory boards comprised of experienced individuals, competent in their fields of discipline and having as few members as needed to get the job done; and planning and securing facilities. The priorities of e-development and sustained growth are: the ability to evaluate and react to risk well; protection of product; stimulation of existing market; and the available population of skilled knowledge workers—whether centralized in a physical facility or linked via virtual organization. The Knowledge Economy and Society rely upon knowledge stocks and flows to function, prosper and grow. Entrepreneurs need the knowledge to build a reliable infra-structure using incubators for new venture formation. New technology businesses need to move through the growth process rapidly and get their products to market before they run out of resources. Businesses need to use technology clusters to stimulate sustained innovation and growth. Everyone gains by providing electronic access to goods and information. Entrepreneurs need to understand the criticality of using ICT to support and promote SMEs, and using virtual incubators to enlarge and extend the accession and dissemination of knowledge.