ABSTRACT
Research in economics, sociology, technology innovation and entrepreneur-ship has advanced our understanding of the factors that generate regional advantage. A rich literature has chronicled the tendency for research and development efforts of organizations to ‘spillover’, aiding innovation efforts across organizations co-located in a small geographic region or ‘cluster’ (Jaffe et al. 2000). These spillover effects occur across and within industries (Jaffe et al. 2000) and are accelerated within geographic regions (Jaffe et al. 2000). These effects are further amplified when key participants in a region are public research organizations (such as universities) committed to norms of open science and information disclosure (Dasgupta and David 1994; Owen-Smithet al. 2002). Studies of regional advantage have also emphasized the myriad dense connections that knit together high-tech clusters (Saxenian 1994). In addition, research shows that organizations that are ‘co-evolutionary’ leading to a virtuous cycle through mutual inspiration (Marten 2001) are bound amidst the tension between competitive and cooperative forces, develop strong links driving innovation and market development (Brandenburger and Nalebuff 1996). The effects of co-evolution are further increased when strategic alliances connect local participants (Zhao et al. 2009). Consequently, both Kogut (2000) and Brown and Duguid (2000) argue that, in a technology cluster, the network of relationships among participants is a primary conduit of knowledge flow.
