CLUSTERS BEYOND BORDERS: EXPLORING KNOWLEDGE SPILLOVERS THROUGH COLLABORATIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

This dissertation aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion on the role of physical, relational, and cognitive proximity in facilitating knowledge spillovers. It does so by analyzing external and local collaborations within various cluster types, while also assessing the influence of foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) entering these clusters. Furthermore, the dissertation includes research on global clusters and breakthrough innovations, providing a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics within both local and global settings. Although clusters are often shaped by their unique local specificities, certain recurring patterns can be observed across different regions and industries (Palacios, 2005). These commonalities offer a foundation for deriving broader conclusions, allowing this dissertation to provide insights that transcend individual cases. By analyzing these shared patterns, the research identifies key factors that contribute to the development and evolution of clusters, enabling a more generalizable understanding of how proximity and collaboration drive innovation across diverse contexts. This dissertation is structured into three distinct articles, each written with the aim of publication in peer-reviewed journals, followed by a concluding section that offers a concise summary of the key findings, discusses the broader implications of the research, and suggests potential avenues for future investigation and development on the topic. The first paper, Examining the dynamics of European renewable energy clusters: insights into technological collaboration, investigates the impact of local and global collaborations on technological competitiveness within European RECs. By examining illustrative examples from wind and solar energy clusters in Navarra, Spain, and Munich, Germany, the study challenges the prevailing notion that extensive global collaborations are necessary for innovation. Instead, it highlights the crucial role of local collaborations and technologically homophile community ties in sustaining competitiveness. The research, spanning the period from 1998 to 2018, provides a comprehensive analysis of patent collaborations, offering valuable insights into how companies within green high-tech clusters engage in innovation activities. Building on the insights from the first paper, the second paper entitled Cross-border acquisitions and technological spillover: evidence from European regional clusters examines the effects of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) on European regional clusters. Using a region-specific approach and a dataset of mergers and acquisition (M&A) transactions, the study explores the technological spillovers and collaboration effects of CBAs across 262 European regions and 25 patenting industries. The findings reveal that CBAs have a positive and significant impact on patenting activity and technological collaborations within clusters, with these effects persisting over time. Additionally, the study highlights that CBAs tend to produce technological spillovers within the cluster but do not significantly affect other industries in the region. This research contributes to the understanding of how CBAs can enhance technological performance and collaboration within regional clusters. The third paper entitled Extending Breakthrough Capacity Through Global Collaborations to Ensure Clusters Survival, addresses the broader context of cluster evolution, emphasizing the importance of adapting to social, economic, and technological transformations. It underscores the need for clusters to develop new technological trajectories and expand their global connections to avoid technological lock-in, maintain competitiveness, and prevent decline. By adopting a regional technological cluster perspective, the study explores the extent to which the breakthrough performance of clusters is influenced by their ability to create and exploit global ties during different life cycle phases.