Title: Knowledge and innovation diffusion in retailing clusters: an analysis based on the social perspective

Authors: Renato Telles; Fabio Teixeira Arten; Maciel Manoel De Queiroz; Julio Araujo Carneiro-da-Cunha

Addresses: Department of Management, Paulista University – UNIP, 1212 Dr. Bacelar St, São Paulo, 04026-002, Brazil ' Department of Management, Paulista University – UNIP, Av. Torres de Oliveira, 330, São Paulo, 05347-020, Brazil ' Department of Management, Paulista University – UNIP, 1212 Dr. Bacelar St, São Paulo, 04026-002, Brazil ' Department of Management, Nove de Julho University – UNINOVE, 109, Dr Adolpho Pinto Av., São Paulo, 01156-050, Brazil

Abstract: This study addresses the diffusion of innovation in commercial clusters through the formal network analysis. The objective is to describe the innovation diffusion processes in business networks from Rogers' model perspective in which innovation is influenced by its social structure. The research considered the relation between centrality and diffusion potential of actors of a commercial cluster in Brazil. A survey was applied in the cluster of bars and restaurants of Vila Madalena region in São Paulo, Brazil. As result, the network with approximately 70 organisations was mapped. It allowed us to understand the social structure of the cluster, as well as the identification of the structural properties of the network. We found a significant relationship between centrality and innovation of the actors present in that cluster.

Keywords: business networks; clusters; innovation; knowledge; small and medium enterprises; retail; social perspective.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKBD.2020.112800

International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, 2020 Vol.11 No.3, pp.268 - 287

Received: 25 Sep 2019
Accepted: 27 Aug 2020
Published online: 03 Feb 2021 *

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