Structure socio-spatiale des réseaux d’innovation en secteur manufacturier traditionnel d’une ville moyenne

This article analyses results of a survey among small and mid-size manufacturing enterprises, with low to medium added value production, located in the Quebec province in a mid-size city showing a strong economic progression during the last three decades. Based on the sociologic theory of embeddedness of economic activities within social structures, indicators are developed in order to describe the socio-spatial configuration of business networks related to enterprise’s innovation activities and to search for relationships with its performance. Findings suggest that the economic performance of industrialized mid-size cities depends on enterprises combining both a strong local integration of their business networks and a sufficient spatial extension of relationships, although local integration should be supported by institutional intermediation based on geographic and social proximity.