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.

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to explore the degree to which absorptive capacity and previous innovative performance affect network dynamics, specifically in the creation or destruction of inter-business relationships.Design/methodology/approach: – The empirical study has drawn on the data collected in an industrial cluster located in the Valencian Community in Spain. This population of firms allowed us to test various roles played by network endogenous forces, absorptive capacity and former performance in the creation and dissolution of inter-organisational linkages. The authors followed an evolutionary approach and applied network analysis techniques.Findings: – Empirical evidences suggest that absorptive capacity and previous innovative performance are predictors of inter-business relationships. Absorptive capacity affects the emergence of linkages in the technological network, due to the tacit nature of technological knowledge. On the other hand, previous innovative performance is an indicator to identify leaders companies. These companies tend to increase the reception of request for advice from local firms. Moreover, prestigious companies tend to be more selective in choosing collaborators.Practical implications: – This study helps researchers and managers better understand network dynamics. The generation of inter-organisational relationships in clusters can be determined by cognitive proximity and prestigious status in the network. These evidences are relevant in a mature cluster where knowledge is asymmetrically distributed.Originality/value: – Over the last few decades, studies on industrial clusters have evolved from the “canonical” standpoint. Nowadays, researchers usually take a more sophisticated and richer view of this reality, mainly as a consequence of the inclusion the proximity concept, intra-cluster heterogeneity and advanced analysis of overlapping between networks and territory. Thus, the authors try to add some empirical evidence along these lines.

ResumenLas empresas pertenecientes a aglomeraciones territoriales como un distrito industrial establecen una serie de interdependencias ente ellas que les generan diversos beneficios, como es el caso del acceso a recursos compartidos. Las redes sociales se han utilizado para representar estas interacciones en las que las empresas e instituciones se encuentran inmersas. Sin embargo, las empresas establecen diferentes redes atendiendo a los propósitos estratégicos que traten de cubrir. En nuestro trabajo hemos identificado la presencia de 2 tipos diferentes de redes relacionales: la red de negocio y la red de conocimiento, y mostramos cómo estas 2 redes son significativamente distintas en su caracterización estructural, en términos de densidad, rango, cercanía o intermediación. Por otro lado, las 2 redes presentan efectos diferenciados en la densidad y abundancia de nodos. Estos resultados permiten una mejor compresión de la heterogeneidad interna de estas redes territoriales y sugieren una serie de implicaciones tanto para el mundo académico como para la práctica empresarial.AbstractFirms belonging to territorial agglomerations such as industrial districts, establish a number of interdependences among them, which provide diverse benefits as access to shared resources. Social networks have been used to represent these interactions in which firms and institutions are embedded. However, firms establish different networks according to the different strategic objectives to be covered. Our study shows the existence of two different types of relational networks: the business network and the knowledge network. This work proves how both networks are significantly different in structural characteristics in terms of density, closeness or intermediation. On the other hand, these networks provide differentiated effects in density and abundance of nodes. These findings offer a better understanding of the internal heterogeneity of these territorial networks and suggest a number of implications for both future research and practitioners