Title: Emerging specialisations and software metropolitan clusters - a comparative network analysis on San Francisco, New York and London

Authors: Alessandro Marra; Ernesto Cassetta; Paola Antonelli

Addresses: Department of Economic Studies, University D'Annunzio of Chieti and Pescara, Viale Pindaro 42, 65127, Pescara, Italy ' Department of Economics and Statistics, University of Udine, Via Francesco Tomadini 30, 33100 Udine, Italy ' Department of Economic Studies, University D'Annunzio of Chieti and Pescara, Viale Pindaro 42, 65127, Pescara, Italy

Abstract: The software industry is highly fragmented, and the success of start-ups and innovative SMEs strictly depends on their ability to specialise and exploit market adjacencies and technological complementarities. By focusing on the software industries of San Francisco, New York and London, this article proposes an original approach to detecting firms' specialisations and clusters and employs a network analysis using metadata to determine emerging specialisations and capture market and technological complementarities and capture market and technological complementarities, emphasising the latter as drivers of software metropolitan clusters. Results highlight 'mobile' as one of the most relevant software aggregates in all three cities, enucleate a group of innovative firms in New York focusing on social-media and data analytics, and identify diversified 'business-to-business' software clusters, together with a 'web' and a 'marketing' cluster, arising in London and San Francisco. Several implications can be derived to support both corporate and policy-making decisions, providing useful information to accelerate product development and implement long-term local innovation policy.

Keywords: software industry; industry studies; market adjacencies; technological complementarities; network analysis; firm specialisations; software clusters; metropolitan clusters; San Francisco; New York; London; metadata; product development; local innovation policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTLID.2017.082754

International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 2017 Vol.9 No.1, pp.17 - 41

Received: 17 Mar 2016
Accepted: 21 Apr 2016
Published online: 10 Mar 2017 *

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