ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of innovation and manufacturing of two intertwined clusters in the ceramic tile industry in Europe: Castellon (Spain) and Sassuolo (Italy). These clusters are undisputedly the world leaders in tile technology and innovation. Using a GVC context, this chapter examines the role of innovation and manufacturing in the territories, and the firms’ strategies, answering the following research question: how do IDs link up with GVCs? The analysis shows two new complementary pathways of the GVC in industrial districts: the role of home-grown multinationals connecting and coordinating clusters with the GVC, and the key importance of not offshoring manufacturing for the sake of innovation upgrading in traditional social capital-rich industrial districts.
