In an increasingly connected global marketplace, knowledge transfer occurs through both intra- and interorganizatioiial knowledge networks. The authors of this new collection of essays argue that while managing the internal knowledge base is a crucial factor hi a company's competitiveness, it's also important to recognize that most of the knowledge used by the majority of companies is developed externally.

In this context, they discuss the function and impact of "knowledge spillovers," which occur when organizations are working on similar tilings and, because knowledge cannot be entirely contained, are benefiting from each other's research. The authors pay particular attention to the role that location plays in a company's ability to access knowledge.

Concluding that "there are strong reasons to believe that spillover effects are geographically bounded," they propose that "it may often be of strategic importance to companies and their competitiveness to be represented hi the 'right' industrial clusters."

The book's 17 chapters, whose authors represent an impressively international list of universities and research institutes, are divided into three sections, the first of which discusses knowledge spillovers, the second, issues tied to regional innovation systems, and the third, new thinking hi KM related to geography, emerging technologies and information logistics.

WMe the authors offer this book both as "a base for future research and as a source of ideas for companies that need to develop their knowledge management strategies and policy-makers interested in formulating more efficient regional innovation policies," the tone and theoretical density of the material is clearly aimed more toward academics and researchers than those looking for practical advice.