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Inquiring about the patterns of interaction within clusters can provide a valuable insight into the cooperation and competition strategies followed by firms. However, such internal patterns are difficult to identify using conventional methods. This study aims to apply a social network analysis approach to identify and analyze different sub-groups of firms within a dairy cluster. These sub-groups seem to respond to different forms of productive organization, with different levels of territorial anchorage.

The authors study the dairy cluster in the south-west of Uruguay, where one of the country’s main industries is located. The authors use data from semi-structured interviews applied to managing directors of 40 dairy industrial firms. The authors analyze the collaboration network among firms and industry support organizations. Using a community detection algorithm, the authors identify strategic groups of firms and organizations within the network. The authors analyze information from the interviews to delve deeper into the strategies pursued by actors in each of these sub-groups.

The four groups identified by the algorithm respond to particular logics associated not only with collaborative behavior, but also with territorial distribution and competitive strategies pursued by firms. In particular, these communities show a positive association between the centrality of their nodes in the network, the size of their firms, their export orientation and their innovative capacity. These associations indicate the co-existence, within the cluster, of different local productive systems and other forms of productive organization.

The paper illustrates how different strategies of firms within a cluster can be understood using social network analysis. This approach is particularly interesting in agri-food clusters, where their wider dispersion in the territory often implies their firms following different collaborative and competitive strategies, and different levels of territorial anchorage.

This paper aims to analyse how local agri-food systems (LAFS), compared to other production models, can offer innovative responses to the important environmental challenges facing food production under the twin transition. These responses are more conducive to community inclusion and local development.

The paper combines territorial development, clusters and industrial districts literature with studies on agri-food industry environmental problems and twin transition technologies to develop an agri-food systems typology. This typology is based on a territorial approach to environmental challenges of food production and serves to illustrate the ways in which LAFS can provide innovative responses to these challenges.

The study allows to visualise the differences between LAFS and other agri-food production models, showing how the operationalisation and implementation of digitisation occur at territorial level and how rural communities are involved in the process. The theoretical proposal emphasises not assuming that technology is inherently beneficial but ensuring that its implementation is inclusive and generates social value for the communities.

The paper aims to enrich future research by adopting a territorial perspective to study the twin transition challenges associated with food production systems.

This paper aims to analyze the relationship between inter-firm collaboration network and the type of innovation strategies that can be followed by firms: buy or make innovation. In particular, the authors seek to analyze which are the network topologies that facilitate firms following a buy innovation strategy compared to those network properties that encourage internal R&D activities.

The authors use data from a fieldwork with face-to-face interviews applied to managing directors of firms in the rubber and plastic cluster of Uruguay. Subsequently, they combine social network analysis with regression techniques to determine how inter-firm networks can influence different types of innovation activities.

The authors find that degree centrality facilitates a buy innovation strategy, while betweenness centrality is positively associated with making innovation. Thus, having many direct links with other firms and organizations is relevant to buy innovation. However, indirect links that allow the firm to occupy a strategic position in the network are crucial to develop in-house innovation strategies.

The results offer an advance in the explanation of the incidence of the cluster network structure on the firms innovation strategies; however, they should be contrasted with similar analysis in others clusters and complemented with in depth case studies on the mechanisms behind these phenomena.

These findings have practical implications for business innovation strategy. One factor that should be taken into account is the way in which firms interact with other actors in the cluster. On the one hand, firms can decide to establish and maintain many direct collaboration links, which may contribute to buy innovation. On the other hand, they can follow a more strategic and selective collaboration strategy to make innovation, a strategy that carefully studies not only its direct collaborations, but also what the potential indirect connections would be.

These findings have policy implications regarding industry support organizations. The findings show that such organizations contribute significantly to the overall connectivity and cohesion of networks. This fact allows some firms to register high levels of betweenness centrality, and therefore, organizations can be an interesting instrument to support firms aiming to follow a make innovation strategy.

This study contributes to the literature that analyzes how inter-firm collaboration networks can influence innovation. In line with previous research, results verify that centrality is positively associated with innovation. However, the main contribution of this research is to provide evidence on different ways in which inter-firm networks are related to different innovation strategies (make or buy). In addition, the authors contribute to the understanding of collaboration dynamics and innovation activities in inter-firm interactions within a typical case of a low-tech cluster created under the so-called state-led industrialization model in Latin America.

Este artículo busca estudiar la relación entre las redes de colaboración entre empresas y las diferentes estrategias de innovación. En concreto, se centra en la clásica distinción entre comprar la innovación o desarrollarla en el seno de la empresa.

El artículo estudia el clúster del caucho y plástico de Uruguay, situado en el área metropolitana de Montevideo y Canelones. Los datos se obtuvieron de un trabajo de campo, con 118 entrevistas cara a cara a gerentes de empresas del clúster. Se combinan técnicas de análisis de redes sociales con regresiones logísticas para estimar cómo la posición en la red influye sobre las estrategias de innovación.

Los resultados prueban que la red tiene efectos diferenciados en las estrategias de innovación: mientras que la centralidad de grado (tener muchas conexiones) facilita que las empresas compren innovación, la centralidad de intermediación (ocupar una posición estratégica en la red) está positivamente asociada con el desarrollo de innovación dentro de la empresa.

El artículo realiza una contribución relevante a la literatura sobre redes de innovación al aclarar la relación entre diferentes formas de colaboración en red y distintas estrategias de innovación. Además, resulta de especial interés su estudio de la innovación y las interacciones entre empresas en un caso típico de industria de baja tecnología, creada bajo el llamado modelo de industrialización dirigido por el estado.

Análisis de redes sociales, Innovación, Industrias de baja tecnología, Clúster industrial, Caucho y plástico, Uruguay

O objetivo deste artigo é estudar como as redes de colaboração entre empresas estão relacionadas a diferentes estratégias de inovação seguidas pelas empresas. Em particular, concentra-se na chamada distinção entre comprar e fazer inovação.

O artigo estuda o cluster industrial de borracha e plásticos do Uruguai, localizado nas regiões metropolitanas de Montevidéu e Canelones. Os dados foram obtidos a partir do trabalho de campo, através de 118 entrevistas face-a-face aplicadas a diretores executivos de empresas. Ele combina análise de redes sociais com técnicas de regressão logística para determinar como a posição nas redes de colaboração influencia as estratégias de inovação.

Os resultados provam que a rede tem efeitos diferentes pelo tipo de estratégia de inovação: a centralidade dos graus das firmas (isto é, ter muitos links diretos) facilita a compra de inovações externas, enquanto a centralidade entre as posições (estando localizada em uma posição estratégica na rede) é positivamente associado com a inovação dentro da empresa.

O artigo fornece uma contribuição relevante para a literatura sobre redes de inovação, elucidando a relação entre diferentes formas de colaboração e diferentes estratégias de inovação. Além disso, faz uma contribuição especial, concentrando-se em inovações e interações entre firmas dentro de um caso típico de uma indústria de baixa tecnologia criada sob o chamado modelo de industrialização liderado pelo Estado.

Análise de redes sociais, Inovação, Indústrias de baixa tecnologia, Cluster industrial, Borracha e plásticos, Uruguai

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Firms can enhance their capacity to innovate through involvement in network collaborations. The position they adopt within the network determines access to relevant and diverse knowledge and information that can subsequently be used to develop and implement an appropriate innovation strategy.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.