Does co-location matter for formal knowledge collaboration in the Swedish biotechnology-pharmaceutical sector?

This article addresses the validity of assumptions about the importance of co-locality for innovation, by analyzing whether or not co-location matters for formal knowledge collaboration in the Swedish biotechnology-pharmaceutical sector, or biotech-pharma sector. The population of Swedish biotech-pharma firms has been defined, based on the three criteria of geographical location, their engagement in active knowledge development, and their specialized knowledge/product focus. The firms' patterns of regional, national and international collaboration with other firms and with universities is analyzed, as well as the differing collaborative patterns of small versus large firm. In addressing the theoretical questions about the relative importance of co-location for innovation, the article also provides an empirical overview of the Swedish biotech-pharma sector, especially trends over time. This paper thus contributes to the literature by expanding our empirical knowledge about one European biotech-pharma sectoral system, e.g. Sweden, as well as addressing the theoretical question about the relative importance of co-location for formal knowledge collaboration. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.