This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Learning at the boundaries for industrial districts between exploitation of local resources and the exploration of global knowledge flows

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Fiorenza BELUSSI ()
Luciano PILOTTI ()
Silvia Rita SEDITA ()

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The work offers an integrated view on how knowledge is developed in localised systems of specialised firms (industrial districts - IDs), through informal social networks (communities of practice - CoPs), and firms networks, in an osmotic process between the internal to the district knowledge and the external to the district knowledge. Contrary to the Marshallian consolidated tradition, we describe the functioning of the modern industrial district emphasising not just the role of the local “industrial atmosphere”, but the modern aspect of “learning at the boundaries”, where local actors mix sources of knowledge located inside the district (exploitation of local resources) with external sources (exploration of global knowledge). Our empirical work, based on the analysis of three Italian industrial districts, shows that, in relation to the aspect of exploitation of local resources, the investment (both direct and indirect) of firms in augmenting their capabilities is juxtaposed to the activity organised by the district meta-organisers of cultivating local resources; furthermore, in relation to the exploration of global knowledge, internal/external switchers allow the exploration of global knowledge flows. It is a process that combines forms of localised learning with learning at the boundaries, through the access to pipelines (FDI, firms networks, distant KIBS) and boundary spanning actors (external CoPs).

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.economia.unimi.it/uploads/wp/Pilotti-2006_40.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Department of Economics University of Milan Italy in its series Departemental Working Papers with number 2006-40.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 16 Dec 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:mil:wpdepa:2006-40

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Via Conservatorio 7, I-20122 Milan - Italy
Phone: +39 02 50321522
Fax: +39 02 50321505
Web page: http://www.economia.unimi.it
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Daniele Checchi).

Related research
Keywords: Industrial Districts; Learning; Communities of Practice; Networks;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search, Learning, and Information
M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management
R12 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Zucchella, Antonella, 2006. "Local cluster dynamics: trajectories of mature industrial districts between decline and multiple embeddedness," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(01), pages 21-44, April. [Downloadable!]
  2. Witt, Ulrich, 1998. "Imagination and leadership - The neglected dimension of an evolutionary theory of the firm," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 161-177, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Harald Bathelt & Andersand Malmberg & Peter Maskell, 2002. "Clusters and Knowledge Local Buzz, Global Pipelines and the Process of Knowledge Creation," DRUID Working Papers 02-12, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies. [Downloadable!]
  4. Herbert A. Simon, 2002. "Organizing and coordinating talk and silence in organizations," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(3), pages 611-618, June.
  5. Kirsten Foss & Nicolai J. Foss, 2003. "Authority in the Context of Distributed Knowledge," DRUID Working Papers 03-08, DRUID, Copenhagen Business School, Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy/Aalborg University, Department of Business Studies. [Downloadable!]
  6. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-40, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Biggiero, Lucio, 2002. " The Location of Multinationals in Industrial Districts: Knowledge Transfer in Biomedicals," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 111-22, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Cristiano Antonelli, 2000. "Collective Knowledge Communication and Innovation: The Evidence of Technological Districts," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 34(6), pages 535-547, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Ron A. Boschma & Anne L.W. ter Wal, 2006. "Knowledge networks and innovative performance in an industrial district. The case of a footwear district in the South of Italy," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 0601, Utrecht University, Section of Economic Geography, revised Jan 2006. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Giulio Cainelli & Donato Iacobucci & Enrica Morganti, 2006. "Spatial agglomeration and business groups: New evidence from Italian industrial districts," Regional Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 40(5), pages 507-518, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Argote, Linda & Ingram, Paul, 2000. "Knowledge Transfer: A Basis for Competitive Advantage in Firms," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 150-169, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You too can volunteer for RePEc, for example by encouraging others to register as authors.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-26.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.