Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
2007 Annual International CHRIE Conference & Exposition 
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the cluster and its members are exposed to. The second dimension assesses the cluster’s realized absorptive capacity 
referring to its capacity to transform and exploit the acquired knowledge. The clusters’ characteristic affecting the 
latter is cluster’s cohesion. One has to highlight that the two cluster characteristics (centrality and cohesion) have to 
coexist in order to improve the innovative capacity of the local destination. This is because firms cannot exploit 
knowledge without first acquiring it; similarly, firms can acquire and assimilate knowledge, but they might not have 
the capability to transform and exploit it for NPD. However, since this model is only theoretically based, further 
research is required for testing its propositions. In order to increase the generisability of research, the study would 
need to be large scale involving a great number of clusters, in different industries, countries, cultures and sectors.