Co-evolution of firms, industries and networks in space

Anne L.J. ter Wal (1) , Ron Boschma (1)

1 Department of Economic Geography

The cluster literature suffers from a number of shortcomings: (1) cluster studies tend to relate the performance of cluster firms to their cluster location, without controlling for firm-specific capabilities; (2) cluster studies tend to overemphasize the importance of place and underestimate the role of networks; (3) cluster studies do not address the evolution of clusters. Our aim is to overcome these shortcomings and propose an exploratory theoretical framework that describes how clusters co-evolve with: (1) the industry they adhere to; (2) the (dynamic) capabilities of the firms they contain; and (3) the industry-wide knowledge network they are part of.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Anne L.J. ter Wal, Ron Boschma. Co-evolution of firms, industries and networks in space. Regional Studies, 2009, pp.1. ⟨10.1080/00343400802662658⟩. ⟨hal-00516213⟩