Title: Networks, knowledge flows and innovation in the Chilean meat sector

Authors: Sara Gorgoni, Carlo Pietrobelli

Addresses: Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Metodi Quantitativi (SEMEQ), Universita del Piemonte Orientale, Via Perrone 18, 28100 Novara, Italy. ' Inter-American Development Bank, IADB, 1300 New York Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20577, USA; CREI, University of Roma Tre, Via Silvio d'Amico 77, 00145 Roma, Italy

Abstract: This paper contributes to the debate on innovation in the agro-food industry by presenting the results of a study of the impact of knowledge flows on firm|s innovation in the Chilean meat sector. Most literature agrees that innovation is the result of complex systemic interactions among many different players including other firms, universities and government institutions. In order to test this hypothesis, we apply social network analysis (SNA) and logistic regression to assess whether there is a significant relationship between firms| position in the network and their innovation performance. The empirical test of this hypothesis is based on secondary data and on primary data collected through firm-level questionnaires and interviews to the population of slaughtering and processing plants in six Chilean regions.

Keywords: knowledge flows; knowledge management; KM; business networks; social network analysis; SNA; food production; meat processing; Chile; agro-food industry; complex systemic interactions; universities; higher education; government institutions; logistic regression; agriculture; slaughtering plants; slaughterhouses; abattoirs; cattle; business environment; globalisation; globalization; competiveness; innovation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBE.2010.032713

International Journal of Business Environment, 2010 Vol.3 No.2, pp.159 - 178

Published online: 15 Apr 2010 *

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