Structural embeddedness and innovation performance: Capitalizing on social brokerage in high-tech clusters

Recent academic discourse on innovation clusters has emphasized the need to analyze cluster performance from a micro-level and meso-level perspective. Grounded in literature from economic geography, network theory, and organizational learning, this study discusses the structure of collaborative ties and its effect on the absorptive capacity and innovation performance of cluster firms. Focusing on the concept of social brokerage, the findings show that bridging structural holes and connecting pairs of other actors are conducive to a firm's absorptive capacity and innovation performance. Overall, this study suggests that the locus of innovation lies in the structure of a firm's external collaboration network as well as internal capabilities to exploit the network externalities.