Organisational competence vs transferability of knowledge in cluster organisations and technology parks

Abstract

The main paper aims to evaluate the impact of organisational competence on knowledge and information flows within cluster organisations and technology parks, with particular emphasis on innovative content knowledge. The paper addresses the research question: "What set of competencies of cooperating companies allows access to information and knowledge in cluster and parks structures?"The authors report their findings from a quantitative study carried out in four cluster organisations and three technology parks functioning in Poland. The research sample covered a total of 269 enterprises: 132 cluster members and 137 park tenants. The primary method of data collection was a survey questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using the interdependence of variables, ANOVA, and logistic regression. The research showed that the surveyed enterprises from both analysed groups preferred cooperation with partners of a similar level of competence development and the same or complementary scope of competence. This set of competencies of cooperating organisations also guaranteed better access to information and knowledge resources, including confidential information and new knowledge. This study additionally indicated that the knowledge creation activities performed by the cooperating cluster organisations depended on the proximity of the competencies of organisations as well as on the nature of the information, disseminated within the cluster organisations. The theoretical contribution is related to the results obtained by analysing the phenomenon of information and knowledge dissemination in cluster and park structures, revealing the impact made by the competence proximity of cooperating organisations on the access to this such resources. Thus, the findings supplement the state-of-the-art knowledge of the concept of industrial clusters by presenting a broader view on cooperation developed in geographical proximity, based on a set of various partner competencies.