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Journal of Economic Geography 3 (2003) pp. 373-388
Copyright © 2003 Oxford University Press

From ‘industrial districts’ to ‘knowledge clusters’: a model of knowledge dissemination and competitive advantage in industrial agglomerations

Steven Pinch*, Nick Henry**, Mark Jenkins*** and Stephen Tallman****

Abstract

This paper integrates knowledge-based theories of the firm with geograph-ical studies of industrial agglomeration to produce a model that helps explain the competitive advantages enjoyed by proximate firms located in geographical clusters. We propose a hierarchy of specialized knowledge stocks at both firm and cluster levels and suggest that the comparative advantage conferred by knowledge resources at each level is protected, in part, by asymmetries in knowledge flows from level to level. The paper argues that codified component knowledge is more easily spread than firm-specific architectural knowledge. Nevertheless, over time, agglomerations may develop a cluster-specific form of architectural knowledge that facilitates the rapid dissemination of knowledge throughout the cluster by increasing the learning capacity of proximate firms and thereby conferring cluster-specific competitive advantages.

Keywords: knowledge-based theory of the firm, knowledge clusters, competitive advantage

JEL classifications: B59, O31, O33, R22, Z13

* Corresponding author at: Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. email <S.P.Pinch{at}soton.ac.uk>

** Corresponding author at: CURDS, University of Newcastle, UK. email <Nick.Henry{at}newcastle.ac.uk>

*** Nottingham University Business School, UK. email <Mark.Jenkins{at}nottingham.ac.uk>

**** Department of Management, University of Utah, USA. email <Mgtsbt{at}business.utah.edu>


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