Collective learning, tacit knowledge and regional innovative capacity

The paper reviews key ideas in the firm capabilities literature and shows how they can be usefully extended to develop a conception of collective learning among regionally clustered enterprises. The paper also explores the relationship between codifiable and tacit knowledge in the innovation process, and investigates the claim that tacit knowledge, because it is difficult to transfer in the absence of labour mobility, may constitute a basis for sustained regional competitive advantage. The closing section uses case study material based on Minneapolis and Cambridge to illustrate the importance for innovation of a regional capability for combining and integrating diverse knowledge, and of the sources of such capabilities as pre-conditions for successful high technology regions.