Knowledge transmission in cooperative relationship between companies: ICT versus face to face

The use of ICT is regularly regarded as being able to reduce the need for physical mobility. This research aims at identifying and prioritising the factors that influence the relative frequency of face-to-face meetings when companies cooperate with each other. An econometric analysis, based on a survey of 348 companies of the Brittany Region (France) allows us to confirm that there is a positive relationship between the need to share tacit information and face to face meetings. In addition, we show that the encoding of exchanges, the geographical distance between the partners, the multiplication of partnerships, and the acceptance of internet by the company all contribute to a reduction in face-to-face meetings.