How does spatial crowdedness affect patenting performance in industrial clusters? An empirical study on the moderated U- shaped relationship

摘要

Prior literature suggests the coexistence of the positive and the negative externalities of agglomeration. However, with a focus on the production system side of industrial cluster, the extant studies less explore the root of the above mixed findings from the knowledge system side of clusters. Thus, this study aims to establish a coherent theoretical framework to reconcile the mixed findings on the relationship between spatial crowdedness and cluster-level patenting performance. Specifically, we expect a U-shaped relationship between spatial crowdedness and cluster-level patenting performance. From a perspective of knowledge based view, we argue that the interplay of two underlying mechanisms, i.e. knowledge spillover exploitation and knowledge safeguarding, will lead to this U-shaped relationship. We also propose the moderation effect of technological complexity on this U-shaped relationship. Using a longitudinal dataset from a sample of 171 industrial clusters in China during the period of 2011-2015, we find strong supports to our hypotheses.