Are technological gatekeepers constraining my cluster? Unfolding the paradox of gatekeepers resilience across cluster life cycle stages

Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver ()

No 1206, Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) from Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography

Abstract: The economic geography literature assumes that large leading firms (technology gatekeepers)(TGs) with high absorptive capacity and high-intensity R&D expenditures, shape the district learning process. However, there is an absence in the literature of a dynamic analysis of the role of the TG. Instead, most of the evidence provided is set at a single point in time and considers only one stage of the cluster life cycle (CLC). This paper challenges the aforementioned assumption, and introduces into the discussion two important influences on outcomes: the type of knowledge created (whether it be continuous or radical) in the cluster by technology gatekeepers, and the stage of the cluster life cycle (CLC) at which that knowledge is created. This work addresses the roles of the TG and the CLC together, responding to the gap that not much is known about the role and the persistence of the TG dynamically across different stages of the cluster life cycle. Using qualitative longitudinal case-study research, a world-class cluster is analysed over the last twenty years. The results show that there are temporary technological gatekeepers across cluster life cycles which assume the (temporary) role of leaders when it is a question of bringing in disruptive knowledge. The study’s findings have important implications for scholars and policymakers.

Keywords: technological gatekeepers; cluster life cycle; clusters; radical knowledge; spin-offs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D2 L1 L2 O33 R11 R3 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2012-05, Revised 2012-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse and nep-sbm
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:egu:wpaper:1206

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