Nature and Effects of Knowledge Sourcing in a Competing Environment.

Location in clusters (spatial concentration of firms representing selected economic areas, in Italian economic literature known as industrial districts) gives firms special possibilities to acquire external knowledge, which can be used in creating value for customers in development (manifesting itself in the growth of sales, export or simply higher profits) or adaptation to market changes. Many studies indicate that knowledge flows or spillovers (among firms or between institutions and firms) are approved phenomena of clusters. Therefore, from the knowledge management perspective, a cluster should give lots of opportunities for formal and informal knowledge sourcing: a basic stage for knowledge development and utilisation in a firm's activity. However, it seems that the more demanding the market becomes because of evolutionary changes (like technological progress) or unexpected events or processes (like the economic crisis), the higher the competition between firms and therefore - the propensity to hide and protect knowledge. The empirical research was conducted in the form of a survey among firms in two furniture clusters (districts): Livenza near Treviso and Pordenone (Northern Italy) and Kępno (Western Poland), with different history and characteristics. The study allowed to state that commonly available knowledge sources (internet, professional press/magazines) in the analysed clusters are perceived as more useful than external sources connected with 'cluster advantages': nearby business environment firms and institutions. This suggests that the importance of possibilities created by clusters for knowledge sourcing and knowledge generation should not be overemphasised. Additionally, informal contacts and cooperation agreements are less important in knowledge sourcing than comparisons to other firms without contacts with their employees. Moreover, most valuable and efficient for innovativeness of firms are the creativity and ideas of workers as well as participation in fair trades or events. This leads to the conclusion that the competing environment in clusters creates conditions for firms to acquire or develop new knowledge, but this knowledge is most often a protected added value of firms, too precious to be even slightly revealed or partially shared with others. The results might have been influenced by the specificity of the low-tech furniture sector in which the investigated firms operate as well as by the time of the study (adaptation after the worldwide economic crisis in 2008-2009). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]