Abstract
The central theme of the paper is the industrial firms' behavior in networks of technological knowledge. The importance of knowledge flows is recognized in the economic discussion of technological change as an essential element for firms to innovate. The aim of the study is to understand the behavior of cognitive firms located geographically close when establishing knowledge flows considered relevant to their processes for improvement and development of new products and processes. A field survey using the methodology Social Networks Analyses was performed in two agglomerations of machines for footwear producers: one from Italy and one from Brazil. The results revealed the existence of knowledge flows restricted to some firms and rarefied as well as different cognitive behaviors, indicating that in the two clusters coexist heterogeneous firms that play different roles, some well articulated while others isolated from the technological knowledge network.
Keywords
Technological knowledge network; Industrial firms behavior; Clusters of firms
