The wine industry: persistence of tacit knowledge or increased codification? Some implications for catching-up countries

This paper is about innovation and technological learning in clusters of wine producers in the context of the Italian and Chilean wine industry. It raises questions about measures designed to strengthen knowledge-centred links and interactions among actors in cluster innovation systems, both (i) between firms themselves and (ii) between firms and public research and technology organisations (PRTOs). It shows that, first, the overall effectiveness of knowledge transfer links from PRTOs to cluster firms depends heavily on characteristics of the intra-cluster knowledge network, in particular on the extent to which the firms involved in those links are also connected within the cluster via gatekeeper and broker roles. Second, the density and structure of these intra-cluster networks are not simply ‘givens’ that can be assumed to exist simply because firms are located in geographically bounded clusters. Instead, they are shaped by the existing knowledge resources and innovative activities of the firms. Implications for policy are noted.