Strategic Networking in Small High Tech Firms

The cocktail of small firms and high technology creates a high level of uncertainty, which is one of the most dominant characteristics of high technology development and the conditions for management. ''Strategic Networking in Small High Tech Firms'' is concerned with strategic management of knowledge in small firms and in networks of high tech firms. The focus is on innovation and advanced high technology, leading to problems of handling uncertainty at the boundaries of knowledge. Small firms have to depend on alliances and networks as to create resources for innovative projects. Strategic networking is based on an understanding of the mechanisms of network for organising, and a new perspective on management. Knowledge management is described as a social construction of management or as management of what we do not know. Small firms play an important role in Denmark, primarily due to the relatively few large firms in the country. Instead of focusing on the weaknesses of being small, the study has focused on how small firms develop platforms for management beyond the firm. Small firms form an interesting base for understanding the process of building networking strategies for innovation management under high levels of uncertainty, as they have to build power bases and create management as a social construction in a space between firms. The focus is on how small firm managers create a platform for manoeuvring and adapting to the conditions of the environment through various forms of collaboration and strategic use of networks.