Commercialisation of technology innovations: an empirical study on the influence of clusters and innovation networks

The current body of literature offers contradictory results concerning the role of clusters and innovation networks in the commercialisation of high technology. Whereas several previous studies verify the overall beneficial effects of cluster membership for knowledge-intensive firms, others report that clusters have only little or no influence on technology firms’ economic success. The major purpose of this study is therefore to conduct a comparative analysis between small and medium-sized firms within and outside clusters with regard to the commercialisation of their innovations in the emerging nanotechnology sector. Our results reveal several differences in the commercialisation process and activities between firms within and outside of nanotechnology clusters.