A geographic concentration of interconnected firms, suppliers, and institutions in a particular field. It has the potential to affect competition by increasing the productivity of the companies in the clusters, driving innovation, and stimulating new businesses in the specific field.
Published in Chapter:
Innovation Scope and the Performance of the Firm: Empirical Evidence from an Italian Wine Cluster
Guido Bortoluzzi (University of Trieste, Italy), Patrizia de Luca (University of Trieste, Italy), Francesco Venier (University of Trieste, Italy), and Bernardo Balboni (University of Trieste, Italy)
Copyright: © 2015
|Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6551-4.ch025
Abstract
Innovation is a key factor for surviving and competing in the global scenario. However, findings from existing studies provide conflicting evidence in this regard, and the relationship between company innovation and performance remains undetermined. This chapter aims to deepen our understanding of this subject by looking at a less studied topic: the relationship between the innovation scope of a firm and its performance. The study is based on empirical research carried out in a sample of 74 firms belonging to the Friuli Wine Cluster located in northeastern Italy. Empirical results support the view that the most successful winemakers are those who have a wider innovation scope and who, in the last years, have considerably revised their innovation-related processes in a more market- and experience-related way.