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Evaluating social dynamics within technology clusters: A methodological approach to assess social capital

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  • Muscio, Alessandro
  • Lopolito, Antonio
  • Nardone, Gianluca

Abstract

Support for technology clusters is an important element of innovation policy, with an increasing number of national and regional plans promoting Research and Development projects in collaborative networks. This promotes the need to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of these policies. Several methods and techniques have been proposed, but a standardised approach has not yet emerged. It is important to assess the role of non-economic effects and, in this paper, we propose a methodology, which uses a social network approach, to assess the social capital outcomes of a technology district policy. Building on social capital theory, we construct a set of indicators to account for structural, relational and cognitive components, as well as bonding, bridging and linking kinds. This approach is not costly, in terms of data and information collection and can be combined with other methods that measure policy performance via physical, as well as economic, outputs and impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Muscio, Alessandro & Lopolito, Antonio & Nardone, Gianluca, 2019. "Evaluating social dynamics within technology clusters: A methodological approach to assess social capital," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:88:y:2019:i:c:s0264837718302175
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104161
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    Cited by:

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technology clusters; Technological districts; Social capital; Social network analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L52 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Industrial Policy; Sectoral Planning Methods
    • O25 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Industrial Policy
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R58 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Regional Development Planning and Policy

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