Managing innovation in regional supply networks: a Dutch case of “knowledge industry clustering”

Abstract

This paper presents a case study on the collaboration between Océ, a large Dutch manufacturer of copiers and printers, and several of its lead suppliers within the so‐called “knowledge industry clustering” (KIC) project. In 1993 Océ initiated this project to enable innovation by creating inter‐organizational teams and new combinations based on the knowledge and skills of different suppliers. Based on data collected from 28 interviews with respondents that were involved at both the Océ and supplier side of ten different “knowledge clusters”, it is concluded that the critical success factors primarily point at the importance of creating trust in such inter‐organizational teams.