IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/aal/abbswp/05-05.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Focal Firms as Technological Gatakeepers within Industrial Districts Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in the Italian Packaging Machinery Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Malipiero
  • Federico Munari
  • Maurizio Sobrero

Abstract

Despite the diffusion of communication tools and boundary spanning technologies, knowledge flows in innovation processes retain a distinct localized nature in many industries and geographical clusters emerge as critical areas to foster technological diffusion. In this paper we focus on the role of focal firms in industrial clusters as “gatekeepers” introducing external technological novelties in the cluster and enacting new useful knowledge production locally, thus enhancing international competitive capabilities of all firms in the cluster. We analyze a longitudinal dataset of 720 patents 1 Corresponding Author www.druid.dk granted by USPTO between 1990 and 2003 to firms in the automatic packaging machinery industrial district of Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, and a matched-sample to control for the uneven geographical distribution of R&D and patenting activities. Our results show that firms within the cluster use local knowledge to a greater extent and more rapidly than knowledge from the outside than it would be expected given the geographic distribution of innovative activity in the industry. Moreover, focal firms use external knowledge to a greater extent than other firms operating in the cluster, and other (non focal) firms within the cluster use knowledge from focal firms to a greater extent than would be expected given the geographic distribution of innovative activity in the industry. Implications for research on the geographical distribution of innovation activities are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Malipiero & Federico Munari & Maurizio Sobrero, 2005. "Focal Firms as Technological Gatakeepers within Industrial Districts Knowledge Creation and Dissemination in the Italian Packaging Machinery Industry," DRUID Working Papers 05-05, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:aal:abbswp:05-05
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://wp.druid.dk/wp/20050005.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adam B. Jaffe & Michael S. Fogarty & Bruce A. Banks, 1998. "Evidence from Patents and Patent Citations on the Impact of NASA and Other Federal Labs on Commercial Innovation," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 183-205, June.
    2. Breschi, Stefano & Lissoni, Francesco, 2001. "Knowledge Spillovers and Local Innovation Systems: A Critical Survey," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 975-1005, December.
    3. Lori Rosenkopf & Paul Almeida, 2003. "Overcoming Local Search Through Alliances and Mobility," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(6), pages 751-766, June.
    4. Egbert Wever & Erik Stam, 1999. "Clusters of High Technology SMEs: The Dutch Case," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 391-400.
    5. Bronwyn H. Hall & Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg, 2001. "The NBER Patent Citation Data File: Lessons, Insights and Methodological Tools," NBER Working Papers 8498, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Saxenian, AnnaLee, 1991. "The origins and dynamics of production networks in Silicon Valley," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 423-437, October.
    7. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December.
    8. Giovanni Dosi, 2000. "Sources, Procedures, and Microeconomic Effects of Innovation," Chapters, in: Innovation, Organization and Economic Dynamics, chapter 2, pages 63-114, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Kortum, Samuel & Lerner, Josh, 1999. "What is behind the recent surge in patenting?1," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-22, January.
    10. Michael S. Dahl & Christian Ø.R. Pedersen, 2003. "Knowledge Flows through Informal Contacts in Industrial Clusters Myths or Realities?," DRUID Working Papers 03-01, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    11. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    12. Lazerson, Mark H & Lorenzoni, Gianni, 1999. "The Firms That Feed Industrial Districts: A Return to the Italian," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 8(2), pages 235-266, June.
    13. Malerba Franco & Mancusi Maria Luisa & Montobbio Fabio, 2003. "Innovation and Knowledge Spillovers: Evidence from European Data," Economics and Quantitative Methods qf0319, Department of Economics, University of Insubria.
    14. Martin, Ron, 1999. "The New 'Geographical Turn' in Economics: Some Critical Reflections," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(1), pages 65-91, January.
    15. Suma Athreye, 2000. "Agglomeration and Growth: A Study of the Cambridge Hi-Tech Cluster," Open Discussion Papers in Economics 29, The Open University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics.
    16. Andr Torre Shaw & Jean-Pierre Gilly, 2000. "On the Analytical Dimension of Proximity Dynamics," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 169-180.
    17. Paul Krugman, 1992. "Geography and Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262610868, April.
    18. Ajay Agrawal & Iain M. Cockburn, 2002. "University Research, Industrial R&D, and the Anchor Tenant Hypothesis," NBER Working Papers 9212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Jaffe, Adam B., 2000. "The U.S. patent system in transition: policy innovation and the innovation process," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(4-5), pages 531-557, April.
    20. Baptista, Rui, 2000. "Do innovations diffuse faster within geographical clusters?," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 515-535, April.
    21. Cristina Boari & Andrea Lipparini, 1999. "Networks within Industrial Districts: Organising Knowledge Creation and Transfer by Means of Moderate Hierarchies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 3(4), pages 339-360, December.
    22. Almeida, Paul & Kogut, Bruce, 1997. "The Exploration of Technological Diversity and the Geographic Localization of Innovation," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 21-31, February.
    23. Boari, Cristina & Odorici, Vincenza & Zamarian, Marco, 2003. "Clusters and rivalry: does localization really matter?," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 467-489, December.
    24. Lipparini, Andrea & Sobrero, Maurizio, 1994. "The glue and the pieces: Entrepreneurship and innovation in small-firm networks," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 125-140, March.
    25. Baptista, Rui & Swann, Peter, 1998. "Do firms in clusters innovate more?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 525-540, September.
    26. Jaffe, Adam B & Lerner, Josh, 2001. "Reinventing Public R&D: Patent Policy and the Commercialization of National Laboratory Technologies," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 32(1), pages 167-198, Spring.
    27. Brusco, Sebastiano, 1982. "The Emilian Model: Productive Decentralisation and Social Integration," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 6(2), pages 167-184, June.
    28. Lissoni, Francesco, 2001. "Knowledge codification and the geography of innovation: the case of Brescia mechanical cluster," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(9), pages 1479-1500, December.
    29. Zucker, Lynne G & Darby, Michael R & Brewer, Marilynn B, 1998. "Intellectual Human Capital and the Birth of U.S. Biotechnology Enterprises," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(1), pages 290-306, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kwon, Deuksin & Lee, Ha Young & Cho, Joon Hyung & Sohn, So Young, 2023. "Effect of an open patent pool strategy on technology innovation in terms of creating shared value," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    2. Díez-Vial, Isabel & Montoro-Sánchez, Ángeles, 2020. "International gatekeepers: How to integrate domestic networks and international relations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6).
    3. Frederic Rychen & Jean-Benoit Zimmermann, 2008. "Clusters in the Global Knowledge-based Economy: Knowledge Gatekeepers and Temporary Proximity," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(6), pages 767-776.
    4. Huasheng Zhu & Kelly Wanjing Chen & Juncheng Dai, 2016. "Beyond Apprenticeship: Knowledge Brokers and Sustainability of Apprentice-Based Clusters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver, 2011. "Social Networks across Spatial Agglomerations: the Paradox of High-Tech Clusters. A Critical Revision of Clusters," ERSA conference papers ersa11p779, European Regional Science Association.
    6. Xavier Molina-Morales, F. & Belso-Martinez, José Antonio & Mas-Verdú, Francisco, 2016. "Interactive effects of internal brokerage activities in clusters: The case of the Spanish Toy Valley," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1785-1790.
    7. Camisón, César & Forés, Beatriz, 2011. "Knowledge creation and absorptive capacity: The effect of intra-district shared competences," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 66-86, March.
    8. Yoon, Hyungseok & Yun, Sunyoung & Lee, Joosung & Phillips, Fred, 2015. "Entrepreneurship in East Asian Regional Innovation Systems: Role of social capital," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 83-95.
    9. Frédéric Rychen & Jean-Benoît Zimmermann, 2009. "Industrial Clusters and the Knowledge Based Economy : from open to distributed structures ?," Working Papers halshs-00353425, HAL.
    10. Ron Boschma & Anne L. J. ter Wal, 2007. "Knowledge Networks and Innovative Performance in an Industrial District: The Case of a Footwear District in the South of Italy," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 177-199.
    11. Fiorenza Belussi & Silvia R Sedita & Tine Aage & Daniele Porcellato, 2011. "Inward Flows of Information and Knowledge in Low-tech Industrial Districts: Contrasting the ‘Few Firms Gatekeeper’ and ‘Direct Peer’ Models," Chapters, in: Paul L. Robertson & David Jacobson (ed.), Knowledge Transfer and Technology Diffusion, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. S. Auci, 2014. "The role of production chains in Italian industry: A steady connection between Italy's North-West and South," Rivista economica del Mezzogiorno, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 617-658.
    13. Manuel Exposito-Langa & F. Xavier Molina-Morales & Josep Capo-Vicedo, 2011. "New Product Development and Absorptive Capacity in Industrial Districts: A Multidimensional Approach," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 319-331.
    14. F. Xavier Molina-Morales & Josep Capó-Vicedo & M. Teresa Martínez-Fernández & Manuel Expósito-Langa, 2013. "Social capital in industrial districts: Influence of the strength of ties and density of the network on the sense of belonging to the district," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(4), pages 773-789, November.
    15. Dorsa Tajaddod Alizadeh & Andrea Schiffauerova, 2018. "Evaluation Of Effects Of Collaborative Patterns On The Efficiency Of Scientific Networks Using Simulation," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(04), pages 1-28, May.
    16. Gancarczyk, Marta & Gancarczyk, Jacek, 2018. "Proactive international strategies of cluster SMEs," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 59-70.
    17. Andrea Morrison, 2011. "Innovation and External Knowledge Sources in Industrial Districts: Evidence from an Italian Furniture Cluster," Chapters, in: Paul L. Robertson & David Jacobson (ed.), Knowledge Transfer and Technology Diffusion, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    18. Yanyan Liu & Ying Cheng & Wei Liu, 2018. "Understanding Gatekeeping Transformation in the Chinese EV Industry: An Exploratory Study of the Focal Firms' Cross-industrial Interactions," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 16(3-B), pages 485-503.
    19. Tine Aage & Fiorenza Belussi, 2008. "From Fashion to Design: Creative Networks in Industrial Districts," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(5), pages 475-491.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jung Won Sonn & Michael Storper, 2008. "The Increasing Importance of Geographical Proximity in Knowledge Production: An Analysis of US Patent Citations, 1975–1997," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(5), pages 1020-1039, May.
    2. Cristina Boari & F. Xavier Molina-Morales & Luis Martínez-Cháfer, 2017. "Direct and Interactive Effects of Brokerage Roles on Innovation in Clustered Firms," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3), pages 336-358, September.
    3. Feldman, Maryann P. & Kogler, Dieter F., 2010. "Stylized Facts in the Geography of Innovation," Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, in: Bronwyn H. Hall & Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 381-410, Elsevier.
    4. Breschi, Stefano & Lissoni, Francesco, 2001. "Knowledge Spillovers and Local Innovation Systems: A Critical Survey," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 975-1005, December.
    5. Elisa Giuliani, 2005. "The Structure of Cluster Knowledge Networks Uneven, not Pervasive and Collective," DRUID Working Papers 05-11, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    6. Rosina Moreno & Ernest Miguélez, 2012. "A Relational Approach To The Geography Of Innovation: A Typology Of Regions," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 492-516, July.
    7. Michael Roach & Wesley M. Cohen, 2012. "Lens or Prism? Patent Citations as a Measure of Knowledge Flows from Public Research," NBER Working Papers 18292, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Shivaram V. Devarakonda & Brian T. McCann & Jeffrey J. Reuer, 2018. "Marshallian Forces and Governance Externalities: Location Effects on Contractual Safeguards in Research and Development Alliances," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(6), pages 1112-1129, December.
    9. Martin Andersson & Olof Ejermo, 2002. "Knowledge Production in Swedish Functional Regions 1993-1999," KITeS Working Papers 139, KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Feb 2003.
    10. Chila, Vilma, 2021. "Knowledge dynamics in employee entrepreneurship : Implications for parents and offspring," Other publications TiSEM a1f5d18c-783b-4af6-8414-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Aharonson, Barak S. & Baum, Joel A.C. & Plunket, Anne, 2008. "Inventive and uninventive clusters: The case of Canadian biotechnology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6-7), pages 1108-1131, July.
    12. Ron Boschma & Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Dieter Kogler, 2011. "A relational approach to knowledge spillovers in biotech. Network structures as drivers of inter-organizational citation patterns," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1120, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2011.
    13. Francesco Quatraro & Stefano Usai, 2017. "Are knowledge flows all alike? Evidence from European regions," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(8), pages 1246-1258, August.
    14. Rui Baptista, 1999. "The Diffusion of Process Innovations: A Selective Review," International Journal of the Economics of Business, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 107-129.
    15. Ceci, Federica & Iubatti, Daniela, 2012. "Personal relationships and innovation diffusion in SME networks: A content analysis approach," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 565-579.
    16. Boari, Cristina & Fioretti, Guido & Odorici, Vincenza, 2008. "Rivalry and Learning Among Clustered and Isolated Firms," MPRA Paper 13066, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Schwartz, Michael & Hornych, Christoph, 2009. "Industry Concentration and Regional Innovative Performance – Empirical Evidence for Eastern Germany," IWH Discussion Papers 8/2009, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    18. Paola Giuri & Myriam Mariani & Stefano Brusoni & Gustavo Crespi & Dominique Francoz & Alfonso Gambardella & Walter Garcia-Fontes & Aldo Geuna & Raul Gonzales & Dietmar Harhoff & Karin Hoisl & Christia, 2005. "Everything you Always Wanted to Know about Inventors (but Never Asked): Evidence from the PatVal-EU Survey," LEM Papers Series 2005/20, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    19. Michael S. Dahl & Christian Ø.R. Pedersen, 2003. "Knowledge Flows through Informal Contacts in Industrial Clusters Myths or Realities?," DRUID Working Papers 03-01, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies.
    20. Wang, Qinyu Ryan & Zheng, Yanfeng, 2023. "Patent regime and the geography of cumulative innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(7).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Innovation processes; Knowledge flows; Geographical clusters;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aal:abbswp:05-05. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Keld Laursen (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.druid.dk/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.