Localized Sources of Knowledge and the Effect of Knowledge Spillovers : An Empirical Study of Inventors in the Telecommunications Industry

Knowledge spillovers have been considered a major driver for the increased rate of innovation in technological clusters. In this study, we respond to some recent calls for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of localized knowledge exchange, by focusing on the effect of local sources of knowledge on inventors in telecommunication clusters. We differentiate between the different types of knowledge in our model for knowledge accessibility, and present a framework for knowledge exchange within clusters. We empirically test this model on inventors across the USA, where we compare the responses of inventors in clusters to inventors who are not in clusters. The results highlight the significance of the ‘local buzz', and the dynamics of knowledge spillovers are explored