本文着重研究企业获取与技术创新相关的知识和信息的外部联系制度。以创新系统理论和技术/产品生命周期理论为出发点，研究随着技术/产品生命周期的变化，工业企业创新的外部联系制度所发生的变化。对英国中部的处于技术/产品生命周期的成长期的信息/电子企业以及处于成熟期的汽车制造/工程企业进行了比较研究，发现它们创新的外部联系制度的组织和构成发生了显著变化，如处于成长期的企业对创新的外部联系制度的依赖更大，发生联系的外部知识/信息源的种类更多样化等。同时，两类企业在联系方式、特点以及获取知识的用途等方面也具备一些相似性。

The external linkage system concerned with that firms search for and acquire technological knowledge and information is focused on. Using product/profit cycle theory as a starting point, an evolutionary nature of the system along with the development of a sector’s technology is asserted and the system in an emergent sector is compared with that in a mature sector. An empirical survey of electronics and ICT firms and automotive and related engineering firms in West Midlands of UK provides evidence supporting the system’s evolutionary nature. Reflecting on the growth period of these sectors, electronics and ICT firms are more likely to use external sources of technical knowledge, have a diversified set of sources, and seek for tacit knowledge than automotive and related engineering firms. However, it is found that their differences in the relationship with external sources are subtle. Firms in both the sectors seek and keep up long-term, stable relationships with their important external sources of technical knowledge.