Strategic networking in small high tech firms

Though the concept is somewhat blurred and vague, networking is a basic feature for understanding the conditions for entrepreneurial small firms, and in this article two major mechanisms are analysed. These are (1) opening to new complementarity in order to gain access to new knowledge and people, and (2) closing and collaborating as mutual obligation to protect and form alliances in order to avoid competition in an open market, where both are extending the boundaries of the firm. The research is based on a qualitative study of 35 case firms in the biotech and ICT industries in Denmark (Copenhagen) and France (Sophia Antipolis). It finds that networking is not only a protective mechanism to create benefits of scale, but an active way of creating entrepreneurial opportunities, and organising for high technology innovation. © Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007.