Local knowledge spillovers

This research area investigates the mechanisms through which knowledge created by one firm or institution spills over to others within local or regional proximity, emphasizing channels like labor mobility, vertical linkages, and informal interactions. Understanding these channels clarifies which spillover paths most effectively enhance innovation performance, especially in clustered or developing country settings. The theme also explores how mediating factors—such as absorptive capacity, human resource practices, and organizational openness—modulate spillover magnitude. This knowledge is vital for designing policies and management strategies that leverage local knowledge diffusion to stimulate innovation growth.

This line of research focuses on quantifying how external knowledge stocks, particularly embodied in human capital or institutional frameworks, translate into productivity gains via knowledge spillovers. The literature explores micro-level evidence linking regional concentrations of educated labor to firm productivity improvements, and macro-level analyses assessing how institutional quality conditions the benefits countries derive from external knowledge flows. Understanding these dynamics informs policy targeting education, innovation systems strengthening, and institutional reforms to optimize knowledge absorption and economic growth.

This theme centers on the spatial and relational aspects of knowledge diffusion and how geographic proximity alone inadequately explains knowledge spillovers. It examines alternative proximity dimensions including social, organizational, institutional, and relational trust proximity, and their interplay with spatial distance to amplify or restrict knowledge spillovers. Empirical work using spatial econometrics and network-based analyses sheds light on how these proximities operate synergistically to affect innovative outcomes, regional technological trajectories, and economic growth.