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Codified-Tacit and General-Specific Knowledge in the division of labour among firms. A study of the Software Industry

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  • Salvatore Torrisi
  • Rosa Grimaldi

Abstract

This paper addresses the organisation and codification of knowledge in the software industry. It analyses various economic incentives to codification, including the need to improve the productivity and quality of software production processes and to access inter-firm collaborations. The paper examines the experience of four Italian software firms specialised in software packages and services. It compares their capabilities, the main sources of tacit knowledge, their specific incentives to invest in knowledge codification, their usage of formal software development methodologies and quality control systems. Finally, the paper analyses two distinct technological collaborations that two of these firms have recently established.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatore Torrisi & Rosa Grimaldi, 2001. "Codified-Tacit and General-Specific Knowledge in the division of labour among firms. A study of the Software Industry," LIUC Papers in Economics 85, Cattaneo University (LIUC).
    • Handle: RePEc:liu:liucec:85
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    1. Martin Andersson & Charlie Karlsson, 2004. "The role of accessibility for the performance of regional innovation systems," Chapters, in: Charlie Karlsson & Per Flensburg & Sven-Åke Hörte (ed.), Knowledge Spillovers and Knowledge Management, chapter 10, pages 283-310, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Simone Strambach & Benjamin Klement, 2010. "The organisational decomposition of innovation and territorial knowledge dynamics – insights from the German software industry," Working Papers on Innovation and Space 2010-06, Philipps University Marburg, Department of Geography.
    3. Ron A. Boschma & Anet B.R. Weterings, 2005. "The effect of regional differences on the performance of software firms in the Netherlands," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(5), pages 567-588, October.
    4. Michaela Trippl & Franz Tödtling & Lukas Lengauer, 2007. "The Vienna software cluster: Local buzz without global pipelines?," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2007_07, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    5. Ulrich Witt & Tom Broekel & Thomas Brenner, 2012. "Knowledge and its Economic Characteristics: A Conceptual Clarification," Chapters, in: Richard Arena & Agnès Festré & Nathalie Lazaric (ed.), Handbook of Knowledge and Economics, chapter 16, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Janaina Pamplona da Costa, 2015. "Network (Mis)Alignment, Technology Policy and Innovation: The Tale of Two Brazilian Cities," SPRU Working Paper Series 2015-14, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    7. Michaela Trippl & Franz Tödtling & Lukas Lengauer, 2009. "Knowledge Sourcing Beyond Buzz and Pipelines: Evidence from the Vienna Software Sector," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 85(4), pages 443-462, October.
    8. Kim, Hongbum & Shin, Dong-Hee & Lee, Daeho, 2015. "A socio-technical analysis of software policy in Korea: Towards a central role for building ICT ecosystems," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 944-956.
    9. Hao Zhang & Jiadong Jiang & Liwei Zheng & Xiangzhen Li, 2019. "The interaction between standards development and economic growth of China," International Journal of Quality Innovation, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-13, December.
    10. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 51-127, Elsevier.
    11. Rahel Falk & Hasan Bakhshi & Martin Falk & Wilhelm Geiger & Susanne Karr & Catherine Keppel & Hannes Leo & Roland Spitzlinger, 2011. "Innovation and Competitiveness of the Creative Industries," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 41510.
    12. Brea, Edgar, 2024. "The yin yang of AI: Exploring how commercial and non-commercial orientations shape machine learning innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(6).
    13. Tom Broekel & Torben Klarl, 2024. "The long-term evolution of technological complexity and its relationship with economic growth," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2427, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Sep 2024.
    14. Simone Strambach & Benjamin Klement, 2012. "The Organizational Decomposition of Innovation and Territorial Knowledge Dynamics: Insights from the German Software Industry," Chapters, in: Martin Heidenreich (ed.), Innovation and Institutional Embeddedness of Multinational Companies, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Akgün, Ali E. & Keskin, Halit & Byrne, John C. & Lynn, Gary S., 2014. "Antecedents and consequences of organizations' technology sensemaking capability," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 216-231.
    16. Florian Arun Taeube, 2004. "Proximities and Innovation Evidence from the Indian IT Industry in Bangalore," DRUID Working Papers 04-10, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    17. Aija Leiponen, 2005. "Core complementarities of the corporation: organization of an innovating firm," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(6), pages 351-365.

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