Contribution of Clusters To Knowledge Production: A Systematic Review
Abstract
This systematic review examines the contribution of clusters to knowledge production, dissemination, and innovation. It synthesizes research from economics, management, and geography to identify the mechanisms through which clusters facilitate knowledge creation and support innovative activity. In a globalized economic context, clusters generate agglomeration advantages by facilitating knowledge flows, infrastructure sharing, the development of specialized labor markets, and collaboration among firms, universities, research institutions, and public organizations. The review specifically investigates the main organizational, spatial, and institutional factors that influence knowledge production within clusters and the conditions that determine the effectiveness of these processes.
The study follows a systematic review approach and analyzes publications from the period 2013–2025. Relevant studies were identified and selected according to predefined eligibility criteria and subsequently examined through bibliometric and qualitative thematic analysis. The findings indicate that clusters support innovation by facilitating the creation, exchange, recombination, and application of knowledge. Their effectiveness depends particularly on the quality of inter-organizational networks, geographical and relational proximity, absorptive capacity, stakeholder collaboration, and institutional support. The results also demonstrate the complementarity between knowledge production and knowledge dissemination within cluster ecosystems. Overall, clusters play an important role in regional knowledge creation and innovation, although their performance varies according to organizational, institutional, and territorial conditions. These findings provide a basis for strengthening cluster-based innovation policies and identifying future research directions in knowledge production and regional development.
Keywords: clusters; knowledge production; knowledge dissemination; innovation; regional development; knowledge networks.
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