The dynamizing role of universities in industrial clusters. The case of a Spanish textile cluster

Abstract

In a new scenario in which globalization has produced a change in the economic contexts of industrial clusters, typically formed by SMEs, the aim of this article is to clarify the role played by universities in the transmission of information and knowledge. In order to do so, we will focus on one of the clusters most affected by the effect of globalization, the Spanish textile cluster, and compare it with another Spanish cluster with higher technological levels. To achieve our goal, we have used Social Network Analysis techniques to analyse the role that two Spanish universities play in their corresponding local industrial clusters. The results offer evidence of the importance of universities, especially when knowledge exchanges are involved, in the clusters that were analysed, regardless of their differences in terms of technological requirements.