People management to stimulate networking : a study in the food industry

Abstract

For food firms, innovation is important in order to cope with increasing competition, changing consumer behavior and rapid technological developments. Because the source of innovation is often found in the combination of knowledge and competencies of different organizations, innovation performance relies on the ability to build and use external networks. However, how to stimulate external networking is rather unclear. By conducting a multiple case study in the food industry, we want to answer the following question: How can food firms stimulate external networking of employees in order to increase innovation performance?