Barriers to co-operation and competitive advantage: Crossborder business networks of saxon and northern bohemian firms

Abstract

Small-scale business co-operation across borders is considered as major driving force of economic integration between Western and Central Eastern Europe. In this context, it is argued that business co-operation and networks support the creation of competitive advantage. This paper sheds new light on this issue by adding a case study of firms in selected East German and Czech border regions. The study focuses on two inter-related research questions: Can firms create competitive advantage in small-scale business co-operation and networks within border regions? And what role is there for the barriers to cooperation that firms encounter? These questions are investigated using a dataset of nearly 60 structured interviews with firms from the cross-border regions.