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Exploring the Knowledge Strategies of Temporary Cluster Organizers: A Longitudinal Study of the EU Fabric Industry Trade Shows (1986–2006)

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  • Diego Rinallo
  • Francesca Golfetto

Abstract

Trade shows and other temporary clusters have recently emerged as key sites of theoretical relevance for scholars who are interested in the spatial consequences of interactive learning. Recent research has viewed these events as relational spaces in which countless actors interact and learn spontaneously without a central actor governing the process. In the case of permanent clusters, however, studies have started to unpack the practices through which key actors, such as entrepreneurial and professional associations, stimulate learning and interaction. In this article, we hold that these central subjects also have an important role in activating the benefits of colocalization with regard to temporary clusters. In an empirical study of the European Union clothing fabric trade shows between 1986 and 2006, we identified four types of practices through which trade show organizers shape learning and interaction at their events. Contrary to current views, our study found that exchanges of knowledge at these events do not always occur at the global level. Instead, the geographic scale of the processes of exchanging and acquiring knowledge in temporary clusters is socially and politically constructed at several levels—from the merely local to the truly global. We also found that organizers of trade shows facilitate vertical relationships between exhibitors and typical visitors (i.e., buyers), whereas other knowledge flows are neglected or even hindered. We conclude this article by highlighting the theoretical implications of our study for the literature on the spatial consequences of interaction and innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Diego Rinallo & Francesca Golfetto, 2011. "Exploring the Knowledge Strategies of Temporary Cluster Organizers: A Longitudinal Study of the EU Fabric Industry Trade Shows (1986–2006)," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 87(4), pages 453-476, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:recgxx:v:87:y:2011:i:4:p:453-476
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1944-8287.2011.01127.x
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Huasheng Zhu & Kebi Chen & Yunlong Lian, 2018. "Do Temporary Creative Clusters Promote Innovation in an Emerging Economy?—A Case Study of the Beijing Design Week," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Jose Belso-Martinez, 2012. "To what extent temporary collocation erodes the contribution of the permanent clustering to innovation in manufacturing industries?," ERSA conference papers ersa12p44, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Harald Bathelt & Pengfei Li & Yi-wen Zhu, 2017. "Geographies of temporary markets: an anatomy of the Canton Fair," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(9), pages 1497-1515, September.
    4. van Tuijl, E. & Dittrich, K., 2015. "Events as spaces for upgrading," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2014-013-LIS, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    5. Sookhwa Jung & Jaewoo Lee, 2022. "Current and future influences of COVID-19 on the knowledge management function of conventions and exhibitions," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 16(2), pages 391-410, June.
    6. Sajjad Jasimuddin & Jun Li & Nicholas Perdikis, 2015. "Linkage between geographic space and knowledge transfer by multinational enterprises: a structural equation approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 54(3), pages 769-795, May.
    7. Robert Huggins & Piers Thompson, 2015. "Entrepreneurship, innovation and regional growth: a network theory," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 103-128, June.
    8. Tina Haisch & Max-Peter Menzel, 2019. "Temporary Markets in a Global Economy: An Example of Three Basel Art Fairs," PEGIS geo-disc-2019_14, Institute for Economic Geography and GIScience, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    9. Tina Haisch & Max-Peter Menzel, 2023. "Temporary markets: Market devices and processes of valuation at three Basel art fairs," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 55(2), pages 237-254, March.
    10. José Felipe Jiménez-Guerrero & Jerónimo de Burgos-Jiménez & Jorge Tarifa-Fernández, 2020. "Measurement of Service Quality in Trade Fair Organization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-16, November.
    11. Gibson Rachael & Bathelt Harald, 2014. "Field configuration or field reproduction?: The dynamics of global trade fair cycles," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 58(1), pages 216-231, October.

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