Sources of Knowledge in Different Stages of a Cluster Life Cycle: the Examples of Furniture Industry in Italy and Poland

Authors

  • Wojciech Dyba Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu Instytut Geografii Społeczno-Ekonomicznej i Gospodarki Przestrzennej
  • Tadeusz Stryjakiewicz Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu Instytut Geografii Społeczno-Ekonomicznej i Gospodarki Przestrzennej

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24917/20801653.334.2

Keywords:

cluster, cluster life cycle, furniture industry, knowledge sources

Abstract

Clusters - spatial concentrations of companies and institutions in functionally-related fields - are known as places facilitating the creation and spreading of knowledge. Facing competition from similar firms nearby, cluster firms must constantly search for and utilise new technological and business knowledge. In this paper we present the results of a comparative study conducted in the companies located within two furniture clusters operating in different life cycle stages, which have been determined on the basis of employment, production and export indicators. The first cluster - Livenza is located in the North of Italy and is an example of a mature cluster, the second - in Kępno (Greater Poland region) - as a growing one. Questionnaire survey of the firms located in these areas allowed to state that the firms in the first cluster - in relation to the second one - use more professional knowledge sources, such as: consulting firms, employing “knowledge agents” delivering current knowledge expertise, trainings and actions of public institutions. The results of the study may become a guideline for business environment institutions and public authorities as to the ways of obtaining new, external knowledge which is most expected by the local cluster firms.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Wojciech Dyba, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu Instytut Geografii Społeczno-Ekonomicznej i Gospodarki Przestrzennej

Wojciech Dyba, PhD, assistant professor in the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He received scholarships from the Adam Mickiewicz Foundation (2015) and the Foundation for Polish Science (2018). He was a fellow at the University of Padua (2018). His main research interests include: economic geography (clusters, location of economic activity, innovativeness, globalisation), as well as regional and local development (strategies for development, spatial development plans).

Tadeusz Stryjakiewicz, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu Instytut Geografii Społeczno-Ekonomicznej i Gospodarki Przestrzennej

Tadeusz Stryjakiewicz, profesor, head of the Department of Regional Policy and European Integration in the Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He was a fellow at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, and in the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London. He was a visiting lecturer at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam. His main research interests include: economic geography, location of economic activity, regional and local development, organisation and dynamics of socio-economic space (including creative industries). He has participated in several national and international research projects, authored (or co-authored) 280 research publications and many expert reports. He is a member of the Central Commission for Scientific Degrees and Titles and of many research councils and institutions.

References

Abernathy, W.J., Utterback, J.M. (1978). Patterns of industrial innovation. Technology Review, 80.

Audretsch, D.B., Feldman, M.P. (1996). Inovative clusters and the industry life cycle. Review of Industrial Organisation, 11, 253–273.

Bathelt, H., Malmberg, A., Maskell, P. (2004). Clusters and knowledge: local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation. Progress in Human Geography, 28, 31–56.

Becattini, G., Bellandi, M., De Propris, L. (red.) (2009). A handbook of industrial districts. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Bellandi, M., De Propris, L. (2015). Three generations of industrial districts. Journal of Regional Research – Investigaciones Regionales, 32, 75–87.

Belussi, F., Sedita, S. (2012). Industrial districts as open learning systems: combining emergent and deliberate knowledge structures. Regional Studies, 46(2), 165–184.

Bergman, E.M. (2008). Cluster life-cycles: An emerging synthesis. W: C. Karlsson (red.). Handbook of Research on Cluster Theory. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 114–132.

Boschma, R.A., Ter Wal, A.L. (2007). Knowledge networks and innovative performance in an industrial district: The case of a footwear district in the South of Italy. Industry and Innovation, 14, 177–199.

Buciuni, G., Corò, G., Micelli, S. (2014). Rethinking the role of manufacturing in global value chains: an international comparative study in the furniture industry. Industrial and Corporate Change, 23(4), 967–996.

Bukowitz, W.R., Williams, R.L. (2000). The knowledge management fieldbook. London: Prentice Hall.

Camuffo, A., Grandinetti, R. (2011). Italian industrial districts as cognitive systems: Are they still reproducible? Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 23(9–10), 815–852.

Chojnicki, Z., Czyż, T. (2006). Aspekty regionalne gospodarki opartej na wiedzy w Polsce. Poznań: Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe.

Cluster Observatory (2018, 20 listopada). Pozyskano z www.clusterobservatory.eu

Davenport, T.H., Prusak, L. (1998). Working knowledge. How organizations manage what they know. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

De Marchi, V., Di Maria, E., Gereffi, G. (red.) (2017). Local clusters in Global Value Chains. Linking actors and territories through manufacturing and innovation. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.

De Marchi, V., Grandinetti, R. (2014). Industrial districts and the collapse of the Marshallian model: looking at the Italian experience. Competition & Change, 18(1), 70–87.

Dyba, W. (2016). Przepływy wiedzy w organizacjach klastrowych w Polsce zachodniej. Poznań: Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe.

Dyba, W. (2017). Klastry meblarskie na tle struktury przestrzennej przemysłu meblarskiego w Polsce. Prace Komisji Geografii Przemysłu Polskiego Towarzystwa Geograficznego, 31(1), 38–51.

Fornahl, D., Hassink, R., Menzel, M.P. (2015). Broadening Our Knowledge on Cluster Evolution. European Planning Studies, 23, 1921–1931.

Giuliani, E. (2007). The Selective Nature of Knowledge Networks in Clusters: Evidence from the Wine Industry. Journal of Economic Geography, 7(2), 139–168.

Gorynia, M., Jankowska, B. (2008). Klastry a międzynarodowa konkurencyjność i internacjonalizacja przedsiębiorstwa. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Difin.

Grant, R. (2002). Towards a Knowledge Based Theory of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 109–122.

Hoffmann, V.E., Belussi, F., Martínez-Fernández, M.T., Reyes E. Jr (2017). United we stand, divided we fall? Clustered firms’ relationships after the 2008 crisis. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 29(7–8), 735–758.

Jankowska, B. (2012). Koopetycja w klastrach kreatywnych. Przyczynek do teorii regulacji w gospodarce rynkowej. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Poznaniu.

Jemielniak, D., Koźmiński, A.K. (2008). Zarządzanie wiedzą – podręcznik akademicki. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Akademickie i Profesjonalne.

Kang, K.H., Kang, J. (2009). How do firms source external knowledge for innovation? International Journal of Innovation Management, 13(1), 1–17.

Kogut, B., Zander, U. (1992). Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities and the replication of technology. Organization Studies, 3, 386–397.

Kukliński, A. (red.) (2001). Gospodarka oparta na wiedzy. Wyzwanie dla Polski XXI wieku. Warszawa: Komitet Badań Naukowych.

Li, P. (2018). A tale of two clusters: knowledge and emergence. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 30(7–8), 1–26.

Marshall, A. (1890). Principles of economics. London: Macmillan.

Martin, R., Moodysson, J. (2011). Innovation in symbolic industries: the geography and organisation of knowledge sourcing. European Planning Studies, 19(7), 1183–1203.

Martin, R., Sunley, P. (2011). Conceptualizing cluster evolution: beyond the life cycle model? Regional Studies, 45, 1299–1318.

Maskell, P., Kebir, L. (2005). What qualifies as a cluster theory? Copenhagen: Department of Industrial Economics and Strategy, Copenhagen Business School.

Maskell, P., Malmberg, A. (2007). Myopia, knowledge development and cluster evolution. Journal of Economic Geography, 7(5), 603–618.

Menzel, M.P., Fornahl, D. (2010). Cluster life cycles – dimensions and rationales of cluster evolution. Industrial and Corporate Change, 19(1), 205–238.

Micek, G. (2017). Bliskość geograficzna przedsiębiorstw zaawansowanego przemysłu i usług a przepływy wiedzy. Kraków: Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego.

Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5(1), 14–37.

OECD (1996). The Knowledge-based economy. General distribution OECD/GD(96)102.

Ortega-Colomer, F.J., Molina-Morales, F.X., Fernandez de Lucio, I. (2016). Discussing the concepts of cluster and industrial district. Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, 11(2), 139–147.

Perechuda, K. (red.) (1998). Zarządzanie wiedzą w przedsiębiorstwie. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York: Free Press.

Porter, M.E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. New York: Free Press.

Porter, M.E. (1998). Clusters and the new economics of competition. Harvard Business Review, 76, 77–90.

Porter, M.E., Ketels, C. (2009). Clusters and industrial districts: Common roots, different perspectives. In: G. Becattini, M. Bellandi, L. De Propris (red.). A Handbook of Industrial Districts. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar, 172–184.

Probst, G.J.B., Raub, S., Romhardt, K. (2000). Managing knowledge: building blocks for success. Chichester: Wiley.

Pyke, F., Becattini, G., Sengenberger, W. (red.) (1990). Industrial districts and inter-firm co-operation in Italy. International Institute for Labour Studies.

Saxenian, A. (1994). Regional advantage: culture and competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Schrader, S. (1991). Informal technology transfer between firms. Cooperation through information trading. Research Policy, 20, 153–170.

Storper, M., Venables, A.J. (2004). Buzz: Face-to-face contact and the urban economy. Journal of Economic Geography, 4, 351–370.

Stough R.R. (2015). Cluster life-cycles, entrepreneurship and regional economic development with a case study of the Korean shipbuilding cluster. W: P. Nijkamp, A. Rose, K. Kourtit (red.). Regional Science Matters. Heidelberg: Springer International Publishing.

Stryjakiewicz, T. (1999). Adaptacja przestrzenna przemysłu w Polsce w warunkach transformacji. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza.

Swann, G.M.P. (2009). How firms achieve innovation: clusters and networks. W: G.M.P. Swann. The economics of innovation. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar, 147–172.

Toffler, A. (1990). Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of 21st Century. New York: Bantam Books.

Toffler, A. (2006). Trzecia fala. Poznań: Wydawnictwo Kurpisz.

Trippl, M., Tödtling, F., Lengauer, L. (2009). Knowledge Sourcing Beyond Buzz and Pipelines: Evidence from the Vienna Software Sector. Economic Geography, 85(4), 443–462.

Tsai, D. (2006). Knowledge spillovers and high‐technology clustering: evidence from Taiwan’s Hsinchu science‐based industrial park. Contemporary Economic Policy, 23(1), 116–128.

Vernon, R. (1966). International investment and international trade in the product cycle. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80, 190–207.

Wiig, K. (1997). Knowledge management: an introduction and perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 1(1), 6–14.

You, J., Wilkinson, F. (1994). Competition and co-operation: toward understanding industrial districts. Review of Political Economy, 6(3), 259–278.

Downloads

Published

2019-12-31

How to Cite

Dyba, W. ., & Stryjakiewicz, T. . (2019). Sources of Knowledge in Different Stages of a Cluster Life Cycle: the Examples of Furniture Industry in Italy and Poland. Studies of the Industrial Geography Commission of the Polish Geographical Society, 33(4), 26–41. https://doi.org/10.24917/20801653.334.2

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 4 (2019): Changes in industry and its environment in spatial systems

Section

Articles

License

Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 4.0; Attribution– NoDerivs).

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/

Most read articles by the same author(s)