Epistemic Communities and Cluster Dynamics: On the Role of Knowledge in Industrial Districts

Lars Håkanson

Industry and Innovation, 2005, vol. 12, issue 4, 433-463

Abstract: This paper questions the prevailing notions that firms within industrial clusters have privileged access to “tacit knowledge” that is unavailable—or available only at high cost—to firms located elsewhere, and that such access provides competitive advantages that cause the growth and development of both firms and regions. It outlines a model of cluster dynamics emphasizing two mutually interdependent processes: the concentration of specialized and complementary epistemic communities, on the one hand, and entrepreneurship and a high rate of new firm formation on the other.

Keywords: Industrial clusters; epistemic communities; knowledge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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DOI: 10.1080/13662710500362047

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