Co-evolution of Firms, Industries and Networks in Space

Abstract It is increasingly acknowledged that clusters do not necessarily exhibit networks of local collective learning. This paper addresses the question under which conditions this is the case. Through a longitudinal case study of the business park Sophia-Antipolis it investigates how networks of collective learning emerged throughout the growth of the cluster. Network reconstruction with patent data shows that an innovation network emerged only in Information Technology, in which growth has been increasingly based on local spin-offs and start-ups, and not in Life Sciences. We suggest the extent and nature of agglomeration of firms over time strongly affect the evolution of local collective learning networks.