IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhb/hanken/0494.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Network Knowledge versus Cluster Knowledge- The Gordian Knot of Knowledge Transfer Concepts

Author

Listed:
  • Forsman, Maria

    (Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration)

  • Solitander, Nikodemus

    (Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration)

Abstract

Both management scholars and economic geographers have studied knowledge and argued that the ability to transfer knowledge is critical to competitive success. Networks and other forms for cooperation are often the context when analyzing knowledge transfer within management research, while economic geographers focus on the role of the cluster for knowledge transfer and creation. With the common interest in knowledge transfer, few attempts to interdisciplinary research have been made. The aim of this paper is to outline the knowledge transfer concepts in the two strands of literature of management and economic geography (EG). The paper takes an analytical approach to review the existing contributions and seek to identify the benefits of further interaction between the disciplines. Furthermore, it offers an interpretation of the concepts of cluster and network, and suggests a clearer distinction between their respective definitions. The paper posits that studies of internal networks transcending national borders and clusters are not necessarily mutually exclusive when it comes to transfer of knowledge and the learning process of the firm. Our conclusion is that researchers in general seem to increasingly acknowledge the importance of studying both the effect of and the need for geographical proximity and external networks for the knowledge transfer process, but that there exists equivocalness in defining clusters and networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Forsman, Maria & Solitander, Nikodemus, 2003. "Network Knowledge versus Cluster Knowledge- The Gordian Knot of Knowledge Transfer Concepts," Working Papers 494, Hanken School of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhb:hanken:0494
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dhanken.shh.fi/dspace/bitstream/10227/180/2/494-951-555-797-6.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Scott, Allen J., 1999. "Regions and the World Economy: The Coming Shape of Global Production, Competition, and Political Order," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296584.
    2. Edward E Leamer & Michael Storper, 2001. "The Economic Geography of the Internet Age," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(4), pages 641-665, December.
    3. Peter B. Doeringer & David G. Terkla, 1995. "Business Strategy and Cross-Industry Clusters," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 9(3), pages 225-237, August.
    4. Meric S. Gertler, 2003. "Tacit knowledge and the economic geography of context, or The undefinable tacitness of being (there)," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 75-99, January.
    5. Ann Markusen, 1996. "Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(3), pages 293-313, July.
    6. Arne Isaksen & Bjørn T. Asheim, "undated". "Location, agglomeration and innovation: Towards regional innovation systems in Norway?," STEP Report series 199613, The STEP Group, Studies in technology, innovation and economic policy.
    7. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    8. Arthur, W Brian, 1989. "Competing Technologies, Increasing Returns, and Lock-In by Historical Events," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(394), pages 116-131, March.
    9. Stuart A. Rosenfeld, 2001. "Networks and clusters : the yin and yang of rural development," Proceedings – Rural and Agricultural Conferences, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue Sep, pages 103-120.
    10. Bj–rn Johnson & Edward Lorenz & Bengt-Åke Lundvall, 2002. "Why all this fuss about codified and tacit knowledge?," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(2), pages 245-262.
    11. Anders Malmberg & Peter Maskell, 2002. "The Elusive Concept of Localization Economies: Towards a Knowledge-Based Theory of Spatial Clustering," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(3), pages 429-449, March.
    12. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 2003. "Deconstructing clusters: chaotic concept or policy panacea?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 5-35, January.
    13. Julian Birkinshaw & Neil Hood, 2000. "Characteristics of Foreign Subsidiaries in Industry Clusters," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(1), pages 141-154, March.
    14. Ian R. Gordon & Philip McCann, 2000. "Industrial Clusters: Complexes, Agglomeration and/or Social Networks?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 37(3), pages 513-532, 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. Forsman, Maria & Solitander, Nikodemus, 2004. "The Context and Diffusion of Knowledge in the Finnish Jewellery Industry - The role of The House of Fabergé," Working Papers 506, Hanken School of Economics.
    2. Fougère, Martin, 2004. "Finnish-French Fundamental Cultural Antagonisms in Organising," Working Papers 502, Hanken School of Economics.
    3. Ekholm, Bo-Göran & Wallin, Jan, 2004. "Strategic Priorities, Company Performance and Attitudes Towards Management Accounting Techniques: an Empirical Study," Working Papers 507, Hanken School of Economics.
    4. Fougère, Martin, 2004. "Organizing (with) Thirdness. A Dialogic Understanding of Bicultural Interactions in Organizations," Working Papers 504, Hanken School of Economics.

    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. Sara Cruz & Aurora Teixeira, 2010. "The Evolution of the Cluster Literature: Shedding Light on the Regional Studies-Regional Science Debate," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(9), pages 1263-1288.
    2. Argentino Pessoa, 2014. "Agglomeration and regional growth policy: externalities versus comparative advantages," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 53(1), pages 1-27, August.
    3. Jiang He & M. Hosein Fallah, 2014. "Dynamics of Inventor Networks and the Evolution of Technology Clusters," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(6), pages 2174-2200, November.
    4. Eisingerich, Andreas B. & Bell, Simon J. & Tracey, Paul, 2010. "How can clusters sustain performance? The role of network strength, network openness, and environmental uncertainty," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 239-253, March.
    5. Iammarino, Simona & McCann, Philip, 2006. "The structure and evolution of industrial clusters: Transactions, technology and knowledge spillovers," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1018-1036, September.
    6. Harold (Hal) Wolman & Diana Hincapie, 2015. "Clusters and Cluster-Based Development Policy," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 29(2), pages 135-149, May.
    7. Christophe CARRINCAZEAUX (E3I-IFReDE-GRES) & Frédéric GASCHET (IERSO-IFReDE-GRES), 2006. "Knowledge and the diversity of innovation systems: a comparative analysis of European regions," Cahiers du GRES (2002-2009) 2006-29, Groupement de Recherches Economiques et Sociales.
    8. van der Wouden, Frank & Youn, Hyejin, 2023. "The impact of geographical distance on learning through collaboration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    9. Bas van Heur, 2009. "The Clustering of Creative Networks: Between Myth and Reality," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(8), pages 1531-1552, July.
    10. Simona Iammarino & Philip McCann, 2010. "The Relationship between Multinational Firms and Innovative Clusters," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Yasuyuki Motoyama, 2008. "What Was New About the Cluster Theory?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 22(4), pages 353-363, November.
    12. Shiri M. Breznitz, 2013. "Cluster Sustainability," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 27(1), pages 29-39, February.
    13. Heidi Wiig Aslesen & Roman Martin & Stefania Sardo, 2019. "The virtual is reality! On physical and virtual space in software firms’ knowledge formation," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(9-10), pages 669-682, October.
    14. Sara C. Santos Cruz & Aurora A.C. Teixeira, 2007. "A new look into the evolution of clusters literature. A bibliometric exercise," FEP Working Papers 257, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    15. Hector Rocha, 2004. "Entrepreneurship and Development: The Role of Clusters," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 363-400, October.
    16. Pengfei Li & Harald Bathelt, 2018. "Location strategy in cluster networks," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(8), pages 967-989, October.
    17. Ron A. Boschma & Anet B.R. Weterings, 2005. "The effect of regional differences on the performance of software firms in the Netherlands," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 5(5), pages 567-588, October.
    18. Cassandra C Wang & George C S Lin & Guicai Li, 2010. "Industrial Clustering and Technological Innovation in China: New Evidence from the ICT Industry in Shenzhen," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(8), pages 1987-2010, August.
    19. Michael Storper & Anthony J. Venables, 2004. "Buzz: face-to-face contact and the urban economy," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(4), pages 351-370, August.
    20. Sam Tavassoli, 2011. "A Comparative Investigation of Firms' Innovative behaviors During Different Stages of the Cluster Life-Cycle (Cover study for PhD dissertation)," ERSA conference papers ersa10p1045, European Regional Science Association.

    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:hhb:hanken:0494. 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: Staffan Dellringer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/shhhhfi.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.