The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of various socioeconomic actors in the diffusion of knowledge in localised economies of small and medium sized economics SMEs. The ability of industrial districts to diffuse knowledge quickly and effectively is frequently mentioned as their major advantage, but the actual process has still to be explored. Issues such as the characteristics of localised economies and the relationship between information flow and knowledge diffusion are discussed. A sample of thirty entrepreneurs was contacted and interviewed in Kastoria, a major furcoat production area and Greece's only authentic industrial district. Major findings suggest that the information needs of SMEs have changed in favour of more external and formal information. The role of various local socioeconomic organisations is subsequently becoming more important in the diffusion and creation of knowledge. Policy implications include the creation of a regional network between all the local actors in the form of a discussion forum, the development of an information centre, the increased use of information technologies, the employment of a specialised workforce from outside the district, and the introduction of training programmes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ADAPT Report, 1999Exploration and Recording of the Trends in the Furriers' Labor Market in Northwest Greece Report on the Second Implementation Phase 1997–1999 of the European Union's Project ADAPT (Sadel Finance, Athens) (in Greek)
2.
AlbinoVGaravelliCSchiumaG, 1999, “Knowledge transfer and inter-firm relationships in industrial districts: The role of the leader firm”Technovation1953–63
3.
AminA, 1993, “The globalisation of the economy: An erosion of regional networks?”, in The Embedded Firm Ed. GrabherG (Routledge, London) pp 278–295
4.
AminA, 1994, “The difficult transition from informal economy to Marshallian industrial district”Area2613–24
5.
AthertonA, 2003, “Examining clusters formation from the ‘bottom-up’: An analysis of four cases in the North of England”Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy2121–35
6.
AxelrodR, 1984The Evolution of Cooperation (Basic Books, New York)
7.
BakerP, 1995, “Small firms, industrial districts and power asymmetries”International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research1(1) 8–25
8.
BecattiniG, 1990, “The Marshallian industrial district as a socio-economic notion”, in Industrial Districts and Inter-firm Cooperation in Italy Eds PykeFBecattiniGSengenbergerW (International Institute of Labor Studies, Geneva) pp 37–51
9.
BianchiG, 1998, “Requiem for the Third Italy? Rise and fall of a too successful concept”Entrepreneurship and Regional Development1093–116
10.
BiggieroL, 1999, “Markets, hierarchies, networks, districts: A Cybernetic approach”Human Systems Management1871–86
11.
BrownJHendryC, 1998, “Industrial districts and supply chains as vehicles for managerial and organisational learning”International Studies of Management and Organisation27(4) 127–157
12.
BruscoS, 1990, “The idea of the industrial district: Its genesis”, in Industrial Districts and Interfirm Cooperation in Italy Eds PykeFBecattiniGSengenbergerW (International Institute of Labour Studies, Geneva) pp 10–19
13.
BullAPittMSzarkaJ, 1991, “Small firms and industrial districts, structural explanations of small firm viability in three countries”Entrepreneurship and Regional Development383–99
14.
BullAPittMSzarkaJ, 1993Entrepreneurial Textile Communities: A Comparative Study of Small Textile and Clothing Firms (Chapman and Hall, London)
15.
ChaudhuriA, 1994, “The diffusion of an innovation in Indonesia”Journal of Product and Brand Management3(3) 19–26
16.
ChisholmR, 1996, “On the meaning of networks, group and organisation management”21216–235
17.
CookeP, 1992, “Introduction: Origins of the concept”, in Regional Innovation Systems: The Role of Governances in a Globalised World Eds BraczykHCookePHeidenreichM (UCL Press, London) pp 2–25
18.
CoroGGrandinettiR, 1999, “Evolutionary patterns of Italian industrial districts”Human Systems Management18117–129
19.
CromieSBirleySCallaghanI, 1993, “Community brokers: Their role in the formation and development of business ventures”Entrepreneurship and Regional Development5247–264
20.
DeOttatiG, 1994, “Trust, interlinking transactions and credit in the industrial district”Cambridge Journal of Economics18529–546
21.
DiGiovannaS, 1995, “Industrial districts and regional economic development: A Regulation approach”Regional Studies30373–386
22.
Easterby-SmithMThorpeRLoweA, 2002Management Research (Sage, London)
FORCE Report, 1993, “Study: Provision of the technical specializations in the fur industry”, Greek Fur Centre, Microipologistiki SA, Frankfurt Association of Fur Manufacturers, and Kastoria Center of Labor, report for the European Union's Project Formation Continue en Europe-FORCE, Kastoria (in Greek)
25.
GarnseyECannon-BrookesA, 1993, “Small high technology firms in an era of rapid change: Evidence from Cambridge”Local Economy7318–333
26.
GarofoliG, 1983, “Le Area-Sistema in Italia” [The system-areas in Italy]Politica e Economia1137–61
27.
GlaserB GStraussA L, 1967The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research (Aldine Publishing, Chicago, IL)
28.
GlezakosM, 1997Brief Report on the Fur Industry: Proposals for Facing its Important Problems (University of Piraeus, Athens) (in Greek)
GranovetterM, 1985, “Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness”American Journal of Sociology91481–510
31.
Greek Fur Centre Report, 1995Recording the Current Situation of the Fur Industry in Western Macedonia and the rest of Greece (Greek Fur Centre, Kastoria) (in Greek)
32.
HarrisonB, 1994The Lean and the Mean (Guilford Press, New York)
33.
HenryN, 1992, “The new industrial spaces: Location logic of a new industrial era?”International Journal of Urban and Regional Research16375–396
34.
HerrigelG, 1993, “Power and the redefinition of industrial districts: The case of Baden-Wurttemberg” in The Embedded Firm Ed. GrabherG (Routledge, London) pp 227–251
35.
HinterhuberHLevinB, 1994, “Strategic networks—the organisation of the future”Long Range Planning27(3) 43–53
36.
HowardR, 1990, “Can small business help countries compete?”Harvard Business Review68(6) 88–96
37.
HudsonR, 2002, “Changing industrial production systems and regional development in New Europe”, WP 45/02, ESRC “One Europe or Several” Program, http://www.one-europe.ac.uk/pdf/w45hudson.pdf
38.
ImaiKBabaY, 1991, “Systemic innovation and cross-border networks: Transcending markets and hierarchies to create a new techno-economic system”, in Technology and Productivity: The Challenge for Economic Policy (OECD, Paris) pp 389–407
39.
IOBE and Ergani Finance, 1999Master Plan for the Fur IndustryInstitute of Economic and Industrial Research and Ergani Finance Limited, Athens (in Greek)
40.
KautzKLarsenE A, 2000, “Diffusion theory and practice: Disseminating quality management and software process improvement innovations”Information Technology and People33(1) 11–25
41.
KayeD, 1995, “Sources of information, formal and informal”Management Decision33(5) 13–15
42.
KeebleD E, 1997, “Small firms, innovation and regional development in Britain in the 1990s”Regional Studies31281–293
43.
KvaleS, 1996Interviews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA)
LazersonMLorenzoniG, 1999, “The firms that feed industrial districts: A Return to the Italian Source”Industrial and Corporate Change8235–267
46.
LudvallB A (Ed.), 1992National Systems of Innovation: Towards a Theory of Innovation and Interactive Learning (Pinter, London)
47.
MacdonaldS, 1996, “Introduction: Informal information flow”International Journal of Technology Management111–4
48.
MacdonaldS, 1998Information for Innovation (Oxford University Press, Oxford)
49.
MacdonaldSWilliamsC, 1993, “Beyond the boundary: An information perspective on the role of the gatekeeper in the organisation”Journal of Product Innovation Management10417–427
50.
MacdonaldSWilliamsC, 1994, “The survival of the gatekeeper”Research Policy23123–132
51.
McEvilyBZaheerA, 1999, “Bridging ties: A Source of firm heterogeneity in competitive capabilities”Strategic Management Journal201133–1156
52.
MaleckiE, 1991Technology and Economic Development: The Dynamics of Local, Regional and National Economic Change (Longman, Harlow, Essex)
53.
MaleckiETootleD, 1996, “The role of networks in small firm competitiveness”International Journal of Technology Management1143–57
54.
MarshallA, 1966Principles of Economics8th edition (Macmillan, London)
55.
MilesM BHabermanA M, 1984Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods (Sage, London)
56.
MistriM, 1999, “Industrial districts and local governance in the Italian experience”Human Systems Management18131–139
57.
PanicciaI, 1998, “One, a hundred, thousands of industrial districts: Organisational variety in local networks of small and medium-sized enterprises”Organisation Studies19667–699
58.
PattonM, 1990Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods2nd edition (Sage, London)
59.
PorterM, 1990The Competitive Advantage of Nations (The Free Press, New York)
60.
PouliopoulosL, 1994Historical Evolution of Fur Manufacturing and the Role of Kastoria (Kastoriani Estia, Kastoria) (in Greek)
61.
PykeFSengenbergerW, 1990, “Introduction”, in Industrial Districts and Inter-firm Cooperation in Italy Eds PykeFBecattiniGSengenbergerW (International Institute of Labor Studies, Geneva) pp 1–9
62.
RabellottiR, 1995, “Is there an ‘industrial district model’: Footwear districts in Italy and Mexico compared”World Development2329–41
63.
Robson, 1993Real World Research (Blackwell, Oxford)
64.
RogersE M, 1983Diffusion of Innovations3rd edition (The Free Press, New York)
65.
RothwellRDodgsonM, 1991, “External linkages and innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises”R&D Management2125–137
66.
SaxenianA, 1991, “The origins and dynamics of production networks in Silicon Valley”Research Policy20423–437
67.
SaxenianA, 1994Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128 (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA)
68.
SchraderS, 1991, “Informal technology transfer between firms: Cooperation through information trading”Research Policy20153–170
69.
SchraderS, 1995, “Gaining advantage by ‘leaking’ information: Informal information trading”European Management Journal13156–163
70.
SweeneyG, 1996, “Learning efficiency, technological change and economic progress”International Journal of Technology Management115–27
71.
TaylorSBogdanR, 1998Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods3rd edition (John Wiley, New York)
72.
TseC T, 2002, “The diffusion of knowledge and the productivity and appropriability of R&D investment”Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control26303–331
73.
TurbanEMcLeanEWetherbeJ, 2002Information Technology for Management3rd edition (John Wiley, New York)
74.
TushmanMKatzR, 1980, “External communication and project performance an investigation into the role of gatekeepers”Management Science261071–1085
75.
WarnerJ, 2003, “Modelling the diffusion of specialised knowledge”Asbil Proceedings: New Information Perspectives5575–83
76.
WebsterF, 1993Theories of the Information Society (Routldge, London)
77.
WildS, 1997, “The Northern League: The self-representation of industrial districts in their search for regional power”Politics17(2) 95–100
78.
WilliamsonO, 1979, “Transaction cost economics: The governance of contractual relations”Journal of Law and Economics22233–261
79.
YeungH W, 2000, “Organising ‘the firm’ in industrial geography: Networks, institutions and regional development”Progress in Human Geography24301–315
80.
YinR K, 1993Applications of Case Study Research (Sage, London)
81.
YinR K, 1994Case Study Research: Design and Methods2nd edition (Sage, London)
82.
YiokasP, 1973Fur Industry's Second Stage (Thessaloniki Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Thessaloniki) (in Greek)
83.
ZellnerCFornahlD, 2002, “Scientific knowledge and implications for its diffusion”Journal of Knowledge Management6190–198
