Carsten Bergenholtz

Department of Management, School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark

September 2009 – December 2009. Working with Karen Cook, Dept of Sociology

My research focuses on interorganizational social networks and how to identify and explore weak ties in the biotechnological field. The focal case company, Unisense, is an innovative Danish biotech SME that provides microsensors for a wide range of applications. Since highly specialized competencies are costly in the bio-medical field, an open network approach is emphasized in order to get access to relevant knowledge on markets and products. But how can a SME with limited resources explore 3000 contacts? And to what degree can this be achieved in the virtual world of IT, or is it necessary to embed the interaction in real life meetings?