Collaborative Research: Mapping Globalization: Geographies of Knowledge in the Oil Exploration and Production Industry

This collaborative research project links together contemporary work on "knowledge" and "globalization" in order to understand how and where different types of knowledge are produced, acquired, and mobilized by firms as they seek to extend their global reach. The project focuses on the globalization of the U.S. oil exploration and production industry and has two primary goals: (1) to understand how firms in the oil industry acquire, develop, and mobilize different types of knowledge to operate successfully in diverse geophysical and geopolitical environments; and (2) to determine how networks of knowledge in the industry influence, and are influenced by, technological, organizational, and geographical restructuring. The project is one of the first major empirical studies of knowledge acquisition, development, and mobilization within a mature industrial sector.