Resituating proximity and knowledge cross-fertilization in clusters by means of international trade fairs

This paper elaborates a proximity framework and provides empirical evidence of how knowledge cross-fertilization is instigated at international trade fairs (ITFs) and continued in a cluster network. This paper applies a case study method relying on social network analysis to explore the knowledge cross-fertilization initiated at ITFs and furthered at a Swedish cluster. The findings suggest that firms participating at ITFs translate and re-articulate the acquired external knowledge through their interactions in the cluster network. Creating awareness of the ITFs' influence on innovation is significant for policy-makers and scholars.