Drawing knowledge from external – especially international – sources has become increasingly important to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs). As these firms cannot generate all they need to know to develop new products and processes within their own companies, they need to look elsewhere for new ideas and expertise. This is what is known as knowledge sourcing for innovation.
Being able to effectively access knowledge from external sources is increasingly recognised as a key factor in a firm’s competitiveness. Therefore, we need a better understanding of how companies source knowledge and how this impacts on their performance. We also need to know which types of knowledge sourcing amount to good practice and best help small firms to learn new things.
