NCSB 2004 Conference 13 th Nordic Conference on Small Business Research NEW APPROACH TO COLLABORATION - REGIONAL BUSINESS ENABLING NETWORK Vesa Pikka & Päivi Iskanius & Tauno Jokinen & Pekka Kess Department of Industrial Engineering and Management University of Oulu Finland E- mail: Vesa.Pikka@oulu.fi E-mail: paivi.iskanius@oulu.fi E-mail: tauno.jokinen@oulu.fi E-mail: pekka.kess@oulu.fi May 2004 Abstract This paper presents the business enabling network–model and its theoretical base. The basic elements of the model are goal, trust, competence, infrastructure and continuity. The model has been tested in two case networks and the gained results show that the business enabling network - model is appropriate frame to analyse regional network. The business enabling network concept is more broaden than the traditio nal business network concepts by stressing the meaning of social networks and taking into account also non-commercial actors. The network definition in this paper is broad; A group of actors that work intentionally together to harness long term business capabilities of the network of participants and change information form the business enabling network. Between the actors there may exist formal economical relations or the relations can be only informal i.e. social relations.