Knowledge Spillover and Innovation in Technological Clusters

Knowledge spillovers have been used to explain the increased rate of innovation that is found in technological clusters. The last two decades have seen an increasing interest by researchers trying to capture and measure the effects of these spillovers. However, very little is known about the mechanisms of knowledge exchange that take place in clusters. In this paper we draw on the current body of knowledge and use the concepts of tacit and explicit knowledge to understand how knowledge spillovers actually take place. We present a conceptual model of knowledge accessibility as a mean for knowledge transfer, and we distinguish between knowledge transfer and knowledge spillover based on the knowledge holder’s intention or lack of it to exchange such knowledge. We then review how tacit knowledge is being accessed in technological clusters and how it affects knowledge creation.