A practice perspective on knowledge, learning and innovation – insights from an EU network of small food producers
基于对欧盟小型食品生产者网络的内部研究，提出三种知识创造实践（寻求与获取、同行探索、批判反思），并构建模型说明这些实践如何跨越不同知识边界促进创新，为政策干预提供实用方法。
Drawing on insider research with a three-year EU network created to support innovation in geographically marginalized traditional food companies, this paper makes three contributions to discussions of innovation in small and micro-firms. First, we shift focus away from conceiving of knowledge as a discrete entity, and of knowledge sharing, transfer and exchange as the passing of objects. Applying a practice perspective that conceptualizes innovation as situated in the everyday activities of organizing, learning and working, we extend open innovation ideas and identify three distinct sets of knowledge-creating practices that small and micro-firm actors in this network context engage in as they interact: seek-and-take, peer exploration and critical reflection. Second, we integrate these practices into a model that suggests how different kinds of knowledge boundary (entitative, epistemic, pragmatic and existential) are differently traversed by these practices, with more complex boundaries benefitting from a practice approach. Third, we refine a practical approach for policy interventions designed to stimulate small and micro-firm innovation. The relevance of our contribution lies in the significance of small firms within peripheral economies, and the particular challenges they face in accessing new knowledge for innovation.