ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the phenomenon of network clustering, a structural property that is concerned with the existence of a cohesive subgroup of nodes subgroups that are densely tied internally, with only a few bridging ties that span distinct subgroups, and to investigate its impact on innovation performance. It concerns the sociocentric level of analysis and explores the relationship between micro and macro structures while most prior work on networks was undertaken at the egocentric level of analysis. The chapter studies some concepts used to characterize network clustering, identify their connection with clusters' innovation output, and complete the model with contingencies related to the nodes' characteristics. It investigates the impact of some network characteristics on clusters' innovative performance and to apply a contingency approach. The contingency factors can moderate the impact of the network characteristics of clusters on innovation, because they affect the knowledge-sharing dynamics besides the network structure and they act both at the intra-cluster and at the inter-cluster levels.
