1. Company LOGO kinresearch.nl Clusters as vehicles for entrepreneurial innovation and new idea generation – a critical assessment Marc Bahlmann and Marleen Huysman VU University Amsterdam DIME workshop “Reconcidering the Regional Knowledge Economy”, Newcastle, 4-5 september 2008

2. kinresearch.nl Contribution Points for reflection: What is really happening within clusters when using a knowledge perspective? Does it make sense to apply the cluster concept when studying knowledge flows among entrepreneurs? Social construction of clusters? slide 2 DIME2008 21

3. kinresearch.nl Content of presentation Introducing the problem Contextual background Results Conclusion slide 3 DIME2008 21

4. kinresearch.nl Introducing the problem Some key assumptions on clusters: Local knowledge exchange is different from inter-local counterpart Tacit knowledge is spatially sticky due to its context-specific nature. This social context is primarily defined locally Intra-local ties: dense interaction; strong ties; tacit knowledge exchange, whereas Inter-local ties: sparse interaction; weak ties; codified knowledge exchange Source: e.g. Asheim 2002; Elfring 2008; Gertler 2003 Maskell and Malmberg 1999; 2002. slide 4 DIME2008 21

5. kinresearch.nl Introducing the problem However: Clusters can benefit from ties to other “hotspots around the globe” (Bathelt et al., 2004) New Argonauts (Saxenian, 2006) Varieties of knowing exhibit different geographies of interaction (Amin & Roberts, 2008) slide 5 DIME2008 21

6. kinresearch.nl Introducing the problem What is needed: our contribution Beyond the conceptual Beyond the anecdotal Social Network Data: micro-level slide 6 DIME2008 21

7. kinresearch.nl Introducing the problem Therefore we ask: What do entrepreneurs learn through inter-cluster knowledge linkages? What are the characteristics of these linkages? How are these ties created and maintained ? slide 7 DIME2008 21

8. kinresearch.nl Contextual background: the Amsterdam New Media-cluster slide 8 Immovator, Cross Media Monitor 2006 DIME2008 21

9. kinresearch.nl Contextual background: the Amsterdam New Media-cluster slide 9 Den Hertog et al., 2000 DIME2008 21

10. kinresearch.nl Methods 32 respondents Divided in two phases First phase: 24 interviews Second phase: qualitative SNA by means of 8 additional interviews Resulting in 8 ego-networks slide DIME2008 10 21

11. kinresearch.nl Methods Qualitative SNA: Some people are particularly useful in helping you to be creative as an entrepreneur, such as helping you to generate new ideas. Who are the key people that help you the most to formulate and generate new ideas? Entrepreneurs draw primarily on inter- cluster ties slide 11 DIME2008 21

12. kinresearch.nl Results: ego networks slide 12 DIME2008 21

13. kinresearch.nl Results: ego-networks slide 13 DIME2008 21

14. kinresearch.nl Results: ego-networks slide 14 DIME2008 21

15. kinresearch.nl Results: ego-networks slide 15 Tacit knowledge flows among entrepreneurs take place both within and across cluster boundaries over different types of ties Conferences, trade fairs, etc. So what is the role of geographic proximity? And what is the role of social proximity? DIME2008 21

16. kinresearch.nl Results: knowledge exchange slide 16 3 basic categories: Local buzz: who knows what and who does what with whom Market frontier: latest techn. developments and business prop. Ideological/ visionary debate DIME2008 21

17. kinresearch.nl Results: knowledge exchange slide 17 DIME2008 Example of such a debate: The future of the semantic web 21

18. kinresearch.nl Results: knowledge exchange slide 18 Ideological/ visionary debate Interactive Normative Global Ideological The debate creates a context independent from clusters “Epistemic proximity”? DIME2008 21

19. kinresearch.nl Conclusion slide 19 tacit knowledge flows among entrepreneurs take place both within and across cluster boundaries over different types of ties Inter-cluster knowledge ties facilitate an ideologica l debate Does the concept of epistemic proximity explain the transfer of tacit knowledge across different types of inter-cluster ties? DIME2008 21

20. kinresearch.nl Conclusion slide 20 A KBV on clusters: zooming in at micro-level of (tacit) knowledge flows Knowledge crosses formally defined cluster boundaries: Social construction of clusters? We need to reassess the role of Geographical proximity Social proximity Epistemic proximity DIME2008 21

21. kinresearch.nl Questions and remarks slide 21 Marc Bahlmann: mbahlmann@feweb.vu.nl Marleen Huysman: mhuysman@feweb.vu.nl DIME2008 21