Unravelling the effects of interorganizational networks on innovation in the textile industry. The case of the Valencian cluster in Spain

Abstract

Scholars have supported the idea that interorganizational knowledge networks are a key factor for firms’ innovation in clusters. Yet, existing empirical evidence suggests that, while networks can enhance firms’ innovative performance, not all network linkages influence to the same extent. On this basis, this paper aims to explore in a Spanish textile cluster how the involvement in business and technical knowledge networks influences textile firms’ innovation. The results reveal the influence of the firms’ connectedness to the cluster knowledge network on their innovative results, although only in the case of the technical knowledge network. These findings provide relevant insights for an efficient management of territorial networks at the firm level and for a better definition of textile clusters’ industrial policies.