Senker (1995) has executed an empirical study. It seems to be that firms have different ways in which they receive specific know-how. In the ceramics industry,firms maintain supplier relationships to ensure a continuous inflow of knowledge via the expertise of the suppliers. However, the high tech industry focuses on intra-company knowledge only, without incorporating the suppliers and outside expertise (Blu¨mm, 2002, p.68). Depending on the industry the type of innovation differs