| With the rapid spread of economic globalization, production factors were redistributed in the world, which makes the world flatter. However, this background doesn't make the firm's production activity tend to be balance in space. On the contrary, it makes the phenomena of spatial clustering more outstanding. People will be surprised if they have a bird's eyes view on the map of the world's economy, that the map was marked by so many bright spots, which represented for industrial clusters. For this reason, in recent decades, industrial clusters are becoming the main research topics of the scholars around the world.The traditional theory of industrial clusters suggests that industrial clusters were milieu that full of innovations. The actors in clusters will benefit from the knowledge spillovers existed in it and so will show prominent innovative abilities. As Marshall said that in industrial districts, skills and knowledge about the industry were in the air. With the industrial cluster studies going on, scholars gradually found that in this innovation milieu, firms don't enjoy the benefits of knowledge spillovers equally. Clustered firms have great difference in their innovation performance. So, exploring the process and mechanism, by which the clustered firms form their innovation performance is becoming the theorist's focus. Especially, for the traditional manufacturing industrial clusters in developing countries, which are confronted with the problem of upgrading in the global production network, this research topic will have more practical meaning.In this dissertation, the author puts the analysis level into the industrial clusters and makes the innovation network a start point. By syncretizing the industrial cluster theory, network organization theory and organizational learning theory, the author applies network analysis paradigm and methods, explores the process and mechanism of how the clustered firms form their innovation performance and tries to explain why there is difference in clustered firms' innovation performance. To carry out this research, this dissertation disassembles the core question into three topics. What are the main actors that construct the clustered firm's innovation network? How does the innovation network's characteristics affect on the firm's knowledge acquiring? And what is the mechanism that links the innovation network's characteristics, knowledge acquiring and firm's innovation performance? Based on these preparing works, the author integrates the theoretical analysis with empirical study, tries to conduct a comprehensive and systemic analysis to solve the above questions. The main work of this dissertation consists of the three following parts. This dissertation:(1) Constructed the research model and comprehensive analysis framework based on theoretical analysis and practical observe.This dissertation systematically reviewed the related theories about industrial clusters, identified the relationships between different theoretical schools and their evolution trends. Based on the grasp and understanding of theoretical literatures, and also combined with a large quantity of field studies, which the author had carried out in the industrial clusters that located in Zhejiang Province, this dissertation selected the clustered firm as its analysis unit. By integrating the innovation network theories of industrial clusters, the network organization theories and organizational learning theories, this dissertation constructed a comprehensive analysis framework on how the clustered firm's innovation performance was formed, that is, the research model about the relationship of innovation network's characteristics, knowledge acquiring and firm's innovation performance.(2) Collected adequate data about clustered firms by field studies and questionnaires.During the course of the study, the author, together with other members of the research team, went to the localized industrial clusters that located in Zhejiang Province repeatedly. We visited the Low Voltage Electrical Apparatus Industry in Wenzhou Liushi, the Leather Garment Industry in Jiaxing Haining, the Small Household Electrical Appliances Industry in Ningbo Cixi, the Pearl Culture Industry in Zhuji Shanxiahu, the Auto Accessories Industries in Taizhou Yuhuan, and the Textile Industry in Shaoxing Keqiao successively. By visiting clustered firms and consulting with the managers, industry experts, and the members on duty in relative government departments, the author had a detailed understanding about the Zhejiang's block economy, which was its main character. In September 2008, the author went to Jiaxing again and carried out large-scale questionnaire survey, by which 237 questionnaires were collected. These samples provided detailed data for the empirical analysis.(3) Tested the conceptual model and relative research hypotheses by applying statistical method. Based on theoretical deductions and discussions about the research model, this dissertation analysed the sample data collected by using SPSS 15.0, which is a kind of statistical analysis software. By applying factor analysis, regression analysis and other statistical methods, this dissertation empirically tested the relationships among the main variables in the conceptual model and the corresponding hypothesis. With the empirical testing, this dissertation drawn out the following conclusions:First, the differences of clustered firm's innovation network characteristics lead to different knowledge acquiring. The strength and quality of the clustered firm's network ties have a significant and positive effect on its knowledge acquiring. Second, clustered firm's knowledge acquiring is a key factor that will influence its innovation performance. Those clustered firms, which can access large quantity knowledge from its innovation network, will show excellent innovation performance. Third, clustered firm's knowledge acquiring will mediate between innovation network's characteristics and innovation performance. That is to say, innovation network's characteristics will influence the innovation performance by the means of its effect on firm's knowledge acquiring. Fourth, clustered firm's absorb ability has moderated effects during the innovation process. Firm's potential absorptive ability will moderated the innovation network's characteristics and knowledge acquiring and firm's realized absorptive ability will moderate the knowledge acquiring and innovation performance. Fifth, the actors in a clustered firm's local and extra innovation network will have different effects on firm's knowledge acquiring. That is to say that in a clustered firm's local innovation network, it's up and down stream businesses, as well as its peer colleagues have a significant and positive effect on firm's knowledge acquiring. In a firm's extra innovation network, it's up and down stream businesses that come from outside of the clusters, and also the outside academic organization, will have a significant and positive effect on firm's knowledge.In the framework of network characteristics, knowledge acquiring and innovation performance, this dissertation may contribute to the academic research as follows. It,(1) Constructed and empirically tested a comprehensive framework about innovation network characteristics, knowledge acquiring and innovation performance.The author reviewed the relative literatures about the three main topics in network field, and based on these literatures, the author constructed a comprehensive framework about innovation network characteristics, knowledge acquiring and innovation performance. By analysing the clustered firm's sample data from the industrial clusters located in Jiaxing, this dissertation empirically tested the research model and corresponding hypothesis. The empirical analysis results show that the model not only has theoretical logic, but also has the support of empirical tests.(2) Revealed the mechanism that formed the clustered firm's innovation performance from a network perspective.By applying innovation network theory of the industrial clusters and with the help of network analysis paradigm and method, this dissertation discussed the mechanism that formed the clustered firm's innovation performance. In this dissertation, the author argue that the difference of clustered firm's innovation network characteristics influence the innovation performance indirectly by the means of its effect on firm's knowledge acquiring. This theoretical point was tested and supported by the empirical analysis parts.(3) Made a test for the clustered firm's innovation network's existing status in the context of globalization.Industrial clusters' innovation network, which is characterized by its localization, is changed by the economy globalization trend. With the localized industrial clusters fused with global production network gradually, clustered firm's extra innovation network's effect on its innovation performance is becoming increasingly significant. By an elementary classification between localized and extra innovation network, this dissertation's empirical analysis results confirm that clustered firm's extra innovation network also has a positive and significant effect on its innovation performance. This results show that clustered firm's innovation network is actually extended, its extra innovation network's effect are equal, or even suprior to its localized innovation network.Choosing clustered firm as analysis unit, this dissertation selected the clustered firms in Zhejiang Jiaxing as samples, which is a more typical prototype of industrial clusters. By the theoretical analysis and empirical testing, this dissertation has drawn out a few of conclusions, which have some theoretical and practical meanings. However, because of the author's limited research ability and the exploratory nature of the research, there must be some drawbacks in this work, which needed to be revised by further research.
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