Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/89519 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2004
Series/Report no.: 
LEM Working Paper Series No. 2004/09
Publisher: 
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Pisa
Abstract: 
This paper adopts sociometric analysis to explore the process of knowledge acquisition and diffusion in clusters of firms. By comparing the knowledge systems of two clusters selected for being at different stages of their development path, this study shows that the knowledge system of the laggard cluster is weak, highly disconnected and vulnerable, while in the case of the emerging, dynamic cluster, the knowledge system is characterized by a more connected yet uneven knowledge acquisition and distribution process. These differences are then interpreted considering the heterogeneity of firm knowledge bases across and within clusters and the impact of this latter variable on the degree of intra- and extra-cluster connectivity is explored.
Subjects: 
clusters
firm knowledge base
knowledge systems
social network analysis
JEL: 
O14
O30
L20
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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