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The purpose of this paper is to investigate how technological hubs (THs), defined as knowledge intermediaries, can assist companies in creating successful partnerships to develop innovations. Specifically, the authors ask how THs can help firms connect with horizontal networks and how THs can assist firms on finding suppliers and customers from the vertical network with whom to collaborate. By answering these two main questions, the paper sheds light on the important role of THs and its incubators as knowledge intermediaries in innovation co-creation.

The research is founded on a longitudinal case study of an Italian technologic hub, ComoNExT, that aims to improve the competitiveness of its local economy. Specific attention is given to the role of the incubator that was formed as a joint effort in the technology hub.

The authors find that THs can facilitate networking among tenants and among tenants and external actors within the same epistemic network. The TH that the authors studied is characterized by a new business model that is founded on providing value-added services and networking. The TH sustains the networking at different levels: within tenants, with local actors, extra-local and international actors. The authors’ analysis suggest that THs become knowledge intermediaries who allow firms to identify innovation parties and transform them into innovation partners and, thus, outline the shift from outsourced innovation to co-managed innovation.

The paper shows how knowledge intermediaries facilitate the intermediation between heterogeneous organizations who are located at different network positions and characterized by relational proximity that is the basis for reaching effective innovation. The research depicts how knowledge intermediaries reinforce the drivers of a co-membership network to co-create innovation to improve the strength of a relationship characterized by a shared vision.

This paper aims to investigate sustainability-led innovation, focusing on the interplay between product and process innovation for sustainability goals and the underlying supplier–customer relationships. Thus, the paper delves into sustainability-led innovation and how it affects supplier–customer relationships, and vice versa, thus providing a twofold perspective.

The textile industry is the empirical context of this study, which is exploratory research based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs, managers and experts in the textile industry.

In the textile industry, sustainability-led product innovation concerns mainly product durability and performance, product recyclability and the use of waste for new product development. Process innovation deals with circular economy, traceability and water and chemical use minimization. The paper also shows how sustainability-led innovation is implemented in more technical terms and regarding supplier–customer relationships.

The paper adopts an original perspective on how processes take place in the relationships between suppliers and customers, where there is no dominance of one actor, but innovation emerges from interdependence and interaction. Such perspective allows to provide an in-depth analysis of the supplier–customer relationships and underlying dynamics that affect sustainability-led innovation; moreover, the authors study how such innovation impacts supplier–customer relationships and the underlying relational dynamics. The value of the paper also stands in delivering a real representation of the innovation processes grounded in the textile industry.

This paper aims to examine how innovation intermediary activities increase relational proximity between start-ups and foreign partners to support start-up internationalization.

The paper applies a case study methodology to examine an international network of innovation intermediaries in the resources sector. Interviews were conducted with 59 start-ups, corporate and intermediary managers in four countries, supplemented by secondary data. A two-stage analysis process was performed to first identify activities relating to start-up internationalization and then apply a theoretically derived coding framework based on five proximity dimensions.

The case identifies several innovation intermediary activities, which facilitate relationship development between start-ups and partners in new markets. Findings outline how activities increase relational proximity across different dimensions, while also indicating a number of interrelations between dimensions, given the complexity of international business relationships.

This paper establishes interdisciplinary bridges between business networks, international business and economic geography perspectives. It provides a valuable empirical foundation for relational proximity, demonstrating its application to understanding start-up internationalization and its influence by intermediary-led activities.

Having a shared vision is crucial for innovation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of individual propensity to collaborate and innovate on the development of a shared vision.

The authors build a network in which each node represents the vision of one individual and link the network structure to individual propensity of collaboration and innovativeness. During organizational workshops in four multinational organizations, the authors collected individual visions in the form of images as well as text describing the approach to innovation from 85 employees.

The study maps individual visions for innovation as a cognitive network. The authors find that individual propensity to innovate or collaborate is related to different network centrality. Innovators, individuals who see innovation as an opportunity to change and grow, are located at the center of the cognitive network. Collaborators, who see innovation as an opportunity to collaborate, have a higher closeness centrality inside a cluster.

This paper analyses visions as a network linking recent research in psychology with the managerial longing for a more thorough investigation of group cognition. The study contributes to literature on shared vision creation, suggesting the role which innovators and collaborators can occupy in the process.

This paper proposes how an approach based on a cognitive network can inform innovation management. The findings suggest that visions of innovators summarize the visions of a group, helping the development of an overall shared vision. Collaborators on the other hand are representative of specific clusters and can help developing radical visions.

This paper aims to demonstrate that collaboration is the best way to create sustainable value and to set new indicators to measure collaborative performance.

The methodology is based on the study of several cases from industrial international firms that have successfully build strong partnerships with their suppliers.

If collaboration is fashionable nowadays, it is not a new behavior. Entrepreneurs have chosen to collaborate with suppliers rather than exploit them for decades. Cooperating in the long term with business partners generates outstanding performance. However, most companies continue to have essentially transactional relationship based on the optimization of financial indicators, rather than fostering the quality of their trade and mutual loyalty. This paper answers the questions why and how to promote and manage collaborative performance.

This paper connects the concepts of collaboration, innovation and sustainable value creation. It questions traditional KPIs and the fear of risk and failure.

Inspired by an efficacy debate, this paper aims to understand to what extent do entrepreneurs value business accelerators and what contributes to this value. And as entrepreneurs consider accelerators to be a viable alternative to traditional business incubators, the research seeks to compare these startup support options.

Guided by resource-based theory, the researchers constructed a variance model and analyzed it using quantitative methods based upon data collected from 205 accelerators users as well as 66 incubator users for comparison.

Results indicate that the accelerator users find the programs to be very valuable for improving their business outcomes. Moreover, the users feel the program experience to be valuable regardless of whether their businesses ultimately survive. Knowledge- and culture-related resources contribute significantly to users’ perceptions of value. Findings indicate notable differences in the perceptions of accelerator versus incubator users.

The research contributes to the ongoing academic debate concerning the efficacy of accelerators and provides a model for predicting user value. The research is limited to the USA.

Research serves as a practical guide for prospective accelerator users, as well as provides valuable insights to accelerator administrators and marketers for enhancing their programs.

The study uniquely provides a user’s perspective and highlights distinct differences in the perceptions between accelerators and incubators users.

This paper aims to evaluate the evolution of buyer‐supplier relationships from adversarial toward relational, or service‐centered, emphasis for large‐scale organizations.

This paper uses the historical method to review historical changes through synthesized qualitative (i.e. field notes and industry interviews) and quantitative (i.e. company reports, Compustat queries, trade reports, and survey) research.

Technology and information sharing in B2B relationships engender integrated value chains. Within these value chains, service‐centered view of B2C relationships have been adopted in B2B relationships, resulting in changes in supplier roles and how they are measured.

By focusing on large scale buyer‐supplier relationships within supply chains (e.g. Wal‐Mart, Royal Phillips, ElecSound, China Minmetals, The People's Republic of China), which may affect the generalizability to small‐business applications, this paper provides some guidance on which customer levels (in a value chain) an organization should focus. The evolution of buyer‐supplier relationships towards more cooperative relationships results in changing roles such as co‐managed inventory, where suppliers are authorized to write themselves orders.

This paper is a very useful source of information for practitioners and educators about recent trends in large‐scale buyer‐supplier relationships, including slotting allowances, co‐managed inventory practices, and selling teams. It also provides a buyer‐seller trust matrix that can be used for teaching or developing relational strategy in organizations and classrooms.

This paper provides description of changes in sales force roles and measures, including the roles of responsiveness, empowerment, trust (both supplier and supplier representative), and information sharing not previously found in the literature. Survey research establishes the external validity of the qualitative research.

Drawing on the motivation theory and family business literature, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of family effect in growth behaviour of small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK.

The authors first compare the actual and expected growth of family and non-family-owned SMEs. The authors then compare the growth behaviour of small family firms managed by owner-directors and small family businesses co-managed by family and non-family directors with the non-family-owned SMEs.

The authors find a negative effect of family ownership on actual and intended small business growth behaviours. In addition, the findings also suggest that small family firms co-managed by non-family and family directors are no different from non-family-owned firms, in terms of reporting past actual growth in employment size and turnover as well as expecting growth in workforce size and turnover. The authors also observe a significant difference in anticipating sales growth between family-controlled and non-family-controlled firms. However, this difference is not explained by the heterogeneity of a top management team.

The study has important implications for managerial practice to family firms and on policies that improve the growth of SMEs. Specifically, the competence of managers and decision makers matters considerably in evaluating the efficient operation of the business and maximising the economic growth in SMEs.

The study makes two important theoretical contributions to small business growth literature. First, the findings underline a negative family effect in the actual and expected growth behaviour of SMEs. Second, the mode of family ownership alone may not sufficiently capture family effect and offer a thorough understanding of growth behaviour in SMEs.