Inwards flows of information and knowledge in low-tech industrial districts: contrasting the "few firms gatekeeper" and "direct peer" model

This chapter focuses on the ways in which external information and knowledge are acquired in industrial districts. By drawing a broad distinction between inward information and knowledge flows, we can explain different models by which local firms acquire external information and knowledge from outside the district. In our empirical test, information relates to fashion, market trends, or new technologies and knowledge refers to problem-solving. Despite the complexity of the mechanism by which information and knowledge flow in industrial districts, primarily due to the numerous channels available, we identified two ideal-type models. The first is the “few firms gatekeeper” model; the second is the “direct peer” model. Our empirical evidence, based on the outcomes of a survey conducted in two low-tech industrial districts in northern Italy (the horticultural district of Loria and the sport-system district of Montebelluna), suggests that information flows from outside a district tend to be best described by the direct peer model. By contrast, external knowledge flows (problem-solving and know how) can be described equally well by either model, depending on the location of the most knowledgeable actors (internal or external to the district), and the different technological capabilities exhibited by the firms in the district (whether the district is backwards or evolutionary).