Introduction

This chapter utilises the case of Crossroads Foundation, an international NGO (INGO) in Hong Kong, to explore how institutional embeddedness may facilitate the scaling-up of collaboration and social innovation.

For a long time in history, Hong Kong was instrumental in fostering transnational exchange of resources. Situated at the gateway of Asia, it has long played the role of a regional hub not only in trade and transportation, but also in information and cultural exchange. Such a gateway role can be traced back to the late nineteenth century when the British first took over Hong Kong as a colony. Since the 1990s with neoliberal globalisation and China's development Hong Kong has further developed itself into an important international financial centre. Through its close business partnership with South China (particularly the Guangdong region), Hong Kong has also emerged as a regional centre for providing a wide range of core producer services that drive and manage the global supply chains (Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research, 2003), covering financial, legal and management matters, innovation, development, design, administration, personnel, production technology, maintenance, transport, communications, wholesale distribution, advertising and storage, while fulfilling important gateway functions in terms of flow of financial capital, human capital, ideas and information (Sassen, 2001, 90). With the presence of these infrastructures, Hong Kong has emerged as a global city in Asia. Suffice to highlight some major indicators: it is now the world's ninth largest trading entity, sixth largest foreign exchange market and seventh largest banking centre. It has one of Asia's top three stock markets. It is home to 1,379 regional headquarters and 2,456 regional offices of MNCs and is an international logistics hub for goods moved by sea, air and land.

The literature on global cities have long recognised the linkage and networking role these cities can foster among individuals, firms and organisations. Saskia Sassen (2001), for instance, argues that global cities are ‘postindustrial production sites’ that manage and regulate the global network of production. Thus, global cities have a networked character and are distinguished by their social connectivity. The study of INGOs in global cities is thus a valuable exploration of the strategic position that a global city can provide for international and cross-sectoral collaboration.