Efficient technological strategy is an increasingly important element in industrial profitability. An understanding of networks – the formal and informal web of contacts between suppliers, producers and customers – is vital to the application of such strategy. In this book, first published in 1989, Håkan Håkansson brings together theory and practice to provide the first comprehensive and detailed study of technological development in companies, and the associated interactions with other co...

In this book, the story of how IKEA and its paper producers struggled to solve the problem of creating environmentally friendly paper constitutes the foundation of a discussion of technological development. Through a detailed analysis of the case-study, the authors demonstrate the necessity of including social, technological and economical factors when dealing with such issues. Focusing on the interactive aspects of commercial and technological development, they examine how new solutions a...

The interactive dimension is crucial for the development and growth companies and of the economy. In management, creating and appropriating value depends on relating your business to other businesses. When developing strategy, innovating, marketing, purchasing or accounting there is the need to handle the local specific interdependencies in business relationships that characterize the interactive world. That implies a conception of the task and priorities of management and the critical man...

Technical innovation in industry is regarded by many people as the best way of making industry more profitable. A great deal of energy and time is being expended by businessmen and by governments discussing how best to bring about technical innovation. This book, which was first published in 1987, argues that all concerned with technical innovation should bear in mind the importance of ‘networks’. ‘Networks’ are defined as the web of contacts which exist between suppliers, customers, and p...

Provocative and reflective, this volume on the notion of knowledge and innovation in the business industry provides readers with a holistic approach to the subject of ‘knowledge’.Structuring their arguments around four case studies of innovation within four entirely different contexts, Håkansson and Waluszewski invite the business-minded reader to consider the costs of adopting new knowledge and innovation within a business setting.This book:question...

Accounting in Networks is the first book that in a comprehensive way covers the emerging issue of accounting and control in horizontal relations across legally independent organizations. During the last 20 years, organisations have shown an increased interest in collaborations that cross company boundaries. New organisational forms, such as alliances, partnerships, joint ventures, outsourcing and networks have received increased attention. This development has pushed management ac...

Successful innovation is a true challenge and especially when today’s companies are intertwined in close inter-organisational relationships and networks with e.g. customers and suppliers. Research has indicated that accounting can play important roles in such innovation processes, but there is little in-depth systematic knowledge about this issue.Accounting, Innovation and Inter-Organisational Relationships gathers leading researchers from all around the world to argue for the impo...