Regional Externalities and Clusters: a Dutch Network Case-Study

This chapter contributes to the expanding body of literature on knowledge, learning, innovation, clusters, networks and space. In most publications the main argument is that today’s economy can be best characterized as a knowledge based economy. In other words, learning and knowledge are the key to innovation and improving competitiveness. At the same time, firms depend on collaboration in networks to access knowledge beyond their control. In fact these networks are argued to have an important spatial dimension. One of the main criticisms of these publications is that it may represent some very interesting theoretical views, whereas at the same time the empirical support for these views is very poor. In this chapter we try to answer that criticism as it presents a case study of inter-firm collaboration on innovation in a certain region in the Netherlands. The theoretical part of the chapter is not very elaborate, because we have put an emphasis on the empirical side. In the chapter the relevant literature is only dealt with to a certain extend. We assume that most readers will be more or less familiar with what can be referred to as the established literature. Instead, the chapter focuses on the representation of a case study. In such a way the empirical information will speak for itself and it will be interpreted in the light of the established literature in order to be able to both support as well as to criticize this literature.