This paper focuses on the effects of social capital on industrial clusters. Close networks with strong ties provide benefits for the companies involved in terms of knowledge flow; however, they can also have some negative effects such as knowledge redundancy and obsolescence. We propose an explanatory model to study factors and mediators affecting the redundancy of transmitted knowledge. The model has been applied to a sample of 152 companies in two Spanish industrial clusters. Findings suggest that although strength of ties was associated with redundancy, structural dispersion and local institutions have a negative effect on knowledge redundancy. The findings have a number of relevant implications for individual firms and their policies.

Expósito-Langa M., Molina-Morales F. X. and Capó-Vicedo J. New product development and absorptive capacity in industrial districts: a multidimensional approach, Regional Studies. This research studies to what extent the absorptive capacity of a firm influences its capacity to exploit new opportunities through new products, particularly in a specific context of industrial districts. A multidimensional approach to the absorptive capacity concept is used to distinguish between identification, assimilation, and exploitation of external knowledge. The population of companies belonging to a Spanish textile district is studied. Findings suggest that information and knowledge that a company receives from external sources provide the company with the necessary abilities to innovate. In the present case, the greater the absorptive capacity, the greater the innovation capacity for the company. Expósito-Langa M., Molina-Morales F. X. et Capó-Vicedo J. La mise au point des produits nouveaux et la capacité d’absorption dans les districts industriels: une façon multi-dimensionnelle, Regional Studies. Cette recherche étudie jusqu’à quel point la capacité d’absorption d’une entreprise influe sur sa capacité d’exploiter de nouvelles possibilités par moyen des produits nouveaux, notamment dans le contexte des districts industriels. On applique une façon multidimensionnelle à la notion de capacité d’absorption afin de distinguer entre l’identification, l’assimilation et l’exploitation de la connaissance externe. On étudie le parc d’entreprises implanté sur un district du textile en Espagne. Les résultats laissent supposer que l’information et la connaissance que reçoit une entreprise des sources externes fournissent ce dont elles ont besoin pour innover. Il s’avère de la présente étude que la plus grande est la capacité d’absorption, la plus grande est la capacité d’innovation. Capacité d’absorption Connaissance District industriel Innovation Mise au point des produits nouveaux Expósito-Langa M., Molina-Morales F. X. und Capó-Vicedo J. Die Entwicklung neuer Produkte und die absorptive Kapazität in Industriebezirken: ein multidimensionaler Ansatz, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir, in welchem Ausmaß sich insbesondere im spezifischen Kontext der Industriebezirke die absorptive Kapazität einer Firma auf ihre Kapazität auswirkt, neue Gelegenheiten durch neue Produkte zu nutzen. Zur Unterscheidung zwischen der Identifizierung, der Assimilation und der Nutzung von externem Wissen wird ein multidimensionaler Ansatz für die absorptive Kapazität herangezogen. Untersucht wurden die Firmen eines Textilbezirks in Spanien. Aus den Ergebnissen geht hervor, dass die Informationen und das Wissen, die eine Firma von externen Quellen bezieht, der Firma die nötigen Fähigkeiten zur Innovation verleihen. Im vorliegenden Fall gilt, dass die innovative Kapazität einer Firma um so größer ausfällt, je größer ihre absorptive Kapazität ist. Absorptive Kapazität Wissen Industriebezirk Innovation Entwicklung neuer Produkte Expósito-Langa M., Molina-Morales F. X. y Capó-Vicedo J. Desarrollo de nuevos productos y capacidad de absorción en distritos industriales. Una aproximación multidimensional, Regional Studies. El presente trabajo estudia el efecto de la capacidad de absorción en la empresa sobre el desarrollo de nuevos productos, dentro de un contexto de distrito industrial. Utilizamos una aproximación multidimensional para el concepto de la capacidad de absorción con el objeto de distinguir entre la identificación, asimilación y explotación de conocimiento. Hemos trabajado con empresas pertenecientes al distrito industrial textil español. Los resultados sugieren que las externalidades que la empresa recibe en forma de información y conocimiento de su entorno, junto a las habilidades internas necesarias, benefician su proceso de innovación. De forma particular, el desarrollo de la capacidad de absorción en la empresa favorece su capacidad innovadora. Capacidad de absorción Conocimiento Distrito industrial Innovación Desarrollo de nuevos productos

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated model of the determinants of innovation in clusters. In the understanding, internal, external and relational dimensions must be considered to make up a complete picture of the innovation processes. The authors propose that the exploration capacity of the firm, as well as its networking intensity and the external resources provided by supporting organizations are relevant in this context. Design/methodology/approach: – The empirical study has drawn on the population of the firms belonging to the Valencian textile industrial cluster in Spain and was carried out in two different phases. In the first step the authors applied the social network analysis technique to study the relational structure of the participating companies, followed by a second analysis aimed at performing a more detailed analysis of the companies that answered the roster by means of face-to-face interviews. Findings: – Results suggest that firms in clusters must develop individual capacities parallel to the systemic resources in order to improve their innovation performance. These systemic resources are provided by the position in the knowledge network and the relations with Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS), as agents that connect the cluster with external networks. Originality/value: – In spite of diverse contributions, previous research only provides a partial explanation of the issue and others underestimate one of the elements (internal or external to the firm) where the sources of innovation are generated. The originality of this study lies in the fact that it presents a complete perspective of the innovation process in clustered firms and clarifies key questions in cluster studies through network analysis techniques.

Recent research into the clustering effect on firms has moved away from a simplistic view to a more complex approach. More realistic and complex causal relationships are now considered when analysing these territorial networks. Specifically, this paper attempts to analyse how cluster connectedness moderates the relationship of a firm's innovation effort and the results obtained from this effort. We want to question the commonly accepted direct and positive impact of R&D effort, and moreover, we suggest the existence of a saturation effect and that the level of cluster's inter-connectedness in the cluster moderates this effect. We have developed our empirical study focusing on the Spanish textile industrial cluster. This is a complex manufacturing industry that uses relatively low-technology manufacturing and R&D. Our findings suggest that the degree to which a firm is involved with, or connected to, other firms in the cluster can moderate the effect of the R&D effort on its innovation results. More generally, we aim to contribute to the discussion on the degree to which firms should be involved in the cluster network in order to operate efficiently and gain the maximum competitive advantages. Our findings have implications both in recent cluster and network literature as well for institutional policy.