Knowledge sourcing and cluster life cycle–a comparative study of furniture clusters in Italy and Poland

Clusters are places that facilitate knowledge sharing and dissemination among firms and institutions working in functionally-related fields. Structural changes that take place within clusters over time influence knowledge-related processes and require new approaches towards external knowledge sourcing. In this paper, we use a mixed-method approach to investigate different knowledge sources that firms use at different stages of a cluster life cycle. The empirical research comprises the investigation of two clusters that specialize in the same kind of economic activity, i.e. in the furniture industry, but are at different stages of their life cycle. These are, a mature cluster – the Livenza district in Italy and a growing one – the Kępno cluster in Poland. The analysis revealed that firms in a mature cluster use a greater variety of external knowledge sources and more knowledge-intensive sources than those in growing clusters do. This may be explained by more homogeneous and well-established knowledge pools at later stages of a cluster life cycle and/or by higher competition between firms offering similar products.