IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pav/demwpp/demwp0003.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Innovation and e-commerce in clusters of small firms: The case of a regional e-marketplace

Author

Listed:
  • Eleonora Lorenzini

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia)

Abstract

This paper draws on the literature on innovation in clusters and e-commerce to investigate how a particular kind of innovation project, the establishment of a regional e-marketplace (REM), may contribute to regional development. Using a firm-centred perspective, the role of geographical and cognitive proximity, absorptive capacity and other firm characteristics in the adoption and development of this particular type of innovation project is assessed. Hypotheses are tested with reference to the case of an REM recently established in the Italian area of Valtellina. The policy implications of the study are that REMs deserve support as an instrument of territorial development both in the establishment and in the implementation phase, more with “soft policies” than with “hard policies”.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleonora Lorenzini, 2012. "Innovation and e-commerce in clusters of small firms: The case of a regional e-marketplace," DEM Working Papers Series 003, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:pav:demwpp:demwp0003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dem-web.unipv.it/web/docs/dipeco/quad/ps/RePEc/pav/demwpp/DEMWP0003.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Catherine Beaudry & Stefano Breschi, 2003. "Are firms in clusters really more innovative?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 325-342.
    2. Richard Kneller & Mauro Pisu, 2007. "Industrial Linkages and Export Spillovers from FDI," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 105-134, January.
    3. Sofronis K. Clerides & Saul Lach & James R. Tybout, 1998. "Is Learning by Exporting Important? Micro-Dynamic Evidence from Colombia, Mexico, and Morocco," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(3), pages 903-947.
    4. 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.
    5. Marjolein C. J. Caniels & Henny A. Romijn, 2003. "Firm-level knowledge accumulation and regional dynamics," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 12(6), pages 1253-1278, December.
    6. Kenneth Arrow, 1962. "Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention," NBER Chapters, in: The Rate and Direction of Inventive Activity: Economic and Social Factors, pages 609-626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Bell, Martin & Albu, Michael, 1999. "Knowledge Systems and Technological Dynamism in Industrial Clusters in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(9), pages 1715-1734, September.
    8. Jie Lu, 2003. "A Model for Evaluating E-Commerce Based on Cost/Benefit and Customer Satisfaction," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 265-277, September.
    9. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-970, December.
    10. Giuliani, Elisa & Bell, Martin, 2005. "The micro-determinants of meso-level learning and innovation: evidence from a Chilean wine cluster," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 47-68, February.
    11. Elisa Giuliani, 2007. "The selective nature of knowledge networks in clusters: evidence from the wine industry," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(2), pages 139-168, March.
    12. Alistair R. Anderson & Sarah L. Jack, 2002. "The articulation of social capital in entrepreneurial networks: a glue or a lubricant?," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 193-210, July.
    13. Brunn, Peter & Jensen, Martin & Skovgaard, Jakob, 2002. "e-Marketplaces:: Crafting A Winning Strategy," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 286-298, June.
    14. Santarelli, Enrico & D'Altri, Samuele, 2003. "The Diffusion of E-Commerce Among SMEs: Theoretical Implications and Empirical Evidence," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 273-283, November.
    15. Dosi, Giovanni & Nelson, Richard R., 2010. "Technical Change and Industrial Dynamics as Evolutionary Processes," 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 51-127, Elsevier.
    16. Cooke, Philip, 2001. "Regional Innovation Systems, Clusters, and the Knowledge Economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 10(4), pages 945-974, December.
    17. Andre Torre & Alain Rallet, 2005. "Proximity and Localization," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 47-59.
    18. Elisa Giuliani, 2011. "Role of Technological Gatekeepers in the Growth of Industrial Clusters: Evidence from Chile," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(10), pages 1329-1348, November.
    19. Peter Maskell, 2001. "The Firm in Economic Geography," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(4), pages 329-344, October.
    20. Maskell, Peter & Malmberg, Anders, 1999. "Localised Learning and Industrial Competitiveness," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(2), pages 167-185, March.
    21. Sourafel Girma & Avid Greenaway & Richard Kneller, 2004. "Does Exporting Increase Productivity? A Microeconometric Analysis of Matched Firms," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(5), pages 855-866, November.
    22. Mario Davide Parrilli, 2007. "SME Cluster Development," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-80150-9, December.
    23. Chiarvesio, Maria & Di Maria, Eleonora & Micelli, Stefano, 2004. "From local networks of SMEs to virtual districts?: Evidence from recent trends in Italy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1509-1528, December.
    24. Blalock, Garrick & Gertler, Paul J., 2004. "Learning from exporting revisited in a less developed setting," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 397-416, December.
    25. Audretsch, David B, 1998. "Agglomeration and the Location of Innovative Activity," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 14(2), pages 18-29, Summer.
    26. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    27. Jane W. Lu & Paul W. Beamish, 2001. "The internationalization and performance of SMEs," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 565-586, June.
    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. Irma Booyens, 2016. "Global–local trajectories for regional competitiveness: Tourism innovation in the Western Cape," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 31(1-2), pages 142-157, February.
    2. Pearson A. Broome, 2016. "Conceptualizing the foundations of a regional e-commerce strategy: Open networks or closed regimes? The case of CARICOM," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1139441-113, December.

    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. Eleonora Lorenzini, 2014. "Innovation and e-commerce in clusters of small firms: The case of a regional e-marketplace," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 29(8), pages 771-794, December.
    2. Gloria Parra‐Requena & Francesc Xavier Molina‐Morales & Pedro Manuel García‐Villaverde, 2010. "The Mediating Effect of Cognitive Social Capital on Knowledge Acquisition in Clustered Firms," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 59-84, March.
    3. Gebreeyesus, Mulu & Mohnen, Pierre, 2013. "Innovation Performance and Embeddedness in Networks: Evidence from the Ethiopian Footwear Cluster," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 302-316.
    4. Elisa Giuliani, 2010. "Clusters, Networks and Economic Development: An Evolutionary Economics Perspective," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Andrea Morrison & Roberta Rabellotti, 2005. "Knowledge and Information Networks: Evidence from an Italian Wine Local System," KITeS Working Papers 174, KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy, revised Sep 2005.
    6. Andrea Morrison, 2005. "Inside the Black Box of ‘Industrial Atmosphere’: Knowledge and Information Networks in an Italian wine local system," Working Papers 97, SEMEQ Department - Faculty of Economics - University of Eastern Piedmont.
    7. Ron Boschma & Ron Martin, 2010. "The Aims and Scope of Evolutionary Economic Geography," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. José-Vicente Tomás-Miquel & Gabriel Brătucu & Manuel Expósito-Langa & Oana Bărbulescu, 2018. "The Relevance of Collaborative Networks in Emerging Clusters. The Case of Muntenia-Oltenia Regions in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.
    9. Meng, Rüdiger, 2012. "Räumliche Aspekte der Innovationsförderung: Hintergründe, Perspektiven und Kritik," Arbeitsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Growe, Anna & Heider, Katharina & Lamker, Christian & Paßlick, Sandra & Terfrüchte, Thomas (ed.), Polyzentrale Stadtregionen - Die Region als planerischer Handlungsraum, volume 3, pages 241-254, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    10. Enrica Imbert & Piergiuseppe Morone & Francesca Bigi, 2019. "Assessing the potential of social enterprises through social network analysis - Evidence from Albania," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 1211-1239, September.
    11. Jolanda Hessels & André Stel, 2011. "Entrepreneurship, export orientation, and economic growth," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 255-268, September.
    12. Grillitsch, Markus, 2014. "Institutional Change and Economic Evolution in Regions," Papers in Innovation Studies 2014/1, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    13. Ana Paula Faria & Natália Barbosa & Vasco Eiriz, 2013. "Firms’ innovation across regions: an exploratory study," NIPE Working Papers 12/2013, NIPE - Universidade do Minho.
    14. Growe, Anna & Heider, Katharina & Lamker, Christian & Paßlick, Sandra & Terfrüchte, Thomas (ed.), 2012. "Polyzentrale Stadtregionen - Die Region als planerischer Handlungsraum: 14. Junges Forum der ARL, 22. bis 24. Juni 2011 in Dortmund," Arbeitsberichte der ARL, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, volume 3, number 3.
    15. Markus Grillitsch, 2014. "Regional Transformation: Institutional Change and Economic Evolution in Regions," ERSA conference papers ersa14p1481, European Regional Science Association.
    16. Kudic, Muhamed & Bönisch, Peter & Dominguez Lacasa, Iciar, 2010. "Analyzing Innovation Drivers in the German Laser Industry: the Role of Positioning in the Social and Geographical Space," IWH Discussion Papers 22/2010, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    17. Leten, Bart & Landoni, Paolo & Van Looy, Bart, 2014. "Science or graduates: How do firms benefit from the proximity of universities?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(8), pages 1398-1412.
    18. Ana Paula Faria & Natália Barbosa & Vasco Eiriz, 2015. "Firm Innovation and Co-Location in Portugal," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 574-592, December.
    19. Elisa Giuliani, 2008. "What drives innovative output in emerging clusters? Evidence from the wine industry," SPRU Working Paper Series 169, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    clusters; innovation policy; e-commerce; proximity; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    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:pav:demwpp:demwp0003. 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: Alice Albonico (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dppavit.html .

    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.