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The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and impact of higher education institution (HEI) in a distributed, open innovation system using a survey of some 600 firms in the UK.

Primary data are used from a postal questionnaire survey of 600 firms across three UK regions: Wales, the North West and the East of England.

The analysis reveals significant differences in firm collaboration with HEIs across the UK and the value and impact that such collaborations have on firm development. The nature and effects of such collaboration vary significantly between the type of firm involved and their location and the analysis investigates this in relation to various aspects of innovative activity and firm performance.

Although much of the nature and effects of such collaboration are as one would expect, some of the results are counter‐intuitive and highlight the care we should place on assessing the role of universities and other HEIs in open innovation systems.

One of the major challenges inside firms is how to effectively manage their knowledge assets in the context of managing the transfer of technological knowledge across the firm’s organizational boundaries. This paper explores technological knowledge flows and the coordination of knowledge activity through use of geographically dispersed cross‐functional teams, as a way of integrating diverse knowledge via technology transfer projects. As multinational companies (MNCs) have increased the volume of technological knowledge that flows between their corporate headquarters and subsidiary operations, with rapid speed in many cases, many large firms are having to face increasing challenges of now transferring more ‘softer’ forms of technological knowledge, since this is recognized as an enabler of competitive advantage for firms. Developing this theme, the paper provides a theoretical review of some helpful contributions in this area and provides some empirical research knowledge management insights, gained from conducting research interviews with different functional managers from four UK‐based multinational firms.

The process by which technological innovations developed in one institution are discovered, acquired, and adapted for use by another institution.

The purpose of this article is to provide organized, synthesized information related to initiatives throughout the world based on knowledge‐based development (KBD) such as knowledge cities (KCs), knowledge regions, and knowledge countries. A first search was conducted using the Internet and specialized databases under the keywords “knowledge cities”. The information compiled led to other related keywords which branched out the search. All resulting information was then collated and integrated into a number of categories all unified under the field of knowledge‐based development. A compilation of information on the topic “knowledge cities” and other topics related to knowledge‐based development. The information is presented in eight sections: a glossary of KC‐related terms, a list of knowledge‐based development initiatives, a list of associations and organizations related to the topic, a list of urban KBD‐related value dimensions and their indicators, a list of international rankings, a list of special editions on KCs, a bibliography, and a directory of related sites on the Internet. This effort resulted in a public service available at the World Wide Web. The information included in this compilation is limited mainly to public domain information available throughout Internet in both English and Spanish, as well as in selected databases.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.