In the photo above - Alice together with her co-study leader Prof Leon Oerlemans, and study leader Prof Tinus Pretorius

In her thesis, Interorganisational knowledge flows between and innovative performance of science park firms: An exploratory study of South African new technology-based firms, the promovendus investigated the mixed research findings regarding science park performance. In the research, a science park is regarded as a spatially-bound infrastructure for facilitating and promoting knowledge flows among knowledge-intensive small- and medium-sized technology-based firms.

The research aimed to explain the mixed findings and proposes a relational approach to study the general view of interorganisational knowledge flows among South African new technologybased firms in the Gauteng region. The first empirical study in the research found that not all firms located in the science park under investigation are involved in knowledge transfer activities amongst each other. Two other empirical studies reported several factors that matter to knowledge transfer effectiveness and innovative performance. To enhance knowledge transfer effectiveness, two factors were identified as of major importance, namely frequency of knowledge transfer and technological similarity.

For a firm to improve upon its innovative performance, two configurations of knowledge flows are to be encouraged, namely intended knowledge inflows via informal network ties and unintended knowledge inflows via informal and/or social network ties.