Learning for environmental adaptation and knowledge-intensive services: the role of public networks for SMEs

Small and medium-sized firms are suffering increasing pressure related to environmental adaptation because they cannot create the required technological and organizational competences and there is not a sufficient and appropriate supply of advanced business services for green management in their surroundings. Research results illustrate the usefulness of a cooperative platform based on information technologies, with public support, in providing knowledge-intensive services correcting the inefficiency of the environmental consultancy market and its failure to provide public goods. This research also establishes a relationship between the operation of a reticular model and firm environmental learning by illustrating the improvements in environmental and economic performance that the dissemination and absorption of knowledge can create. We are focusing our attention on an environmental website developed by a Spanish regional network, a project in which good green practices come through virtual inter-organizational cooperation. Empirical analysis is based on the study of the network case and a survey of 348 partner firms over a period of 4 years (2002–2005). An analysis of quantitative and qualitative information tested the validity of the measurements and results with data triangulation.