Territorial knowledge management: towards a metrics of the cognitive dimension of agglomeration economies

Abstract

This paper takes a look at the spatial dimension of innovation processes, which do not occur in high-tech sectors but in clusters of SMEs. Territorial knowledge management means the generation of a system of procedures and incentives to convert tacit and localised knowledge into explicit knowledge available to all companies and employees in a region by overcoming cognitive barriers. Territorial knowledge management is a methodology, which aims to promote innovation within existing firms and the birth of innovative firms through the enhancement of the local endowment of intellectual capital and the governance of those processes, which drive knowledge creation within the firms and between these latter and the local actors. The paper presents an outlook on empirical indicators to measure the value generated by information and knowledge embodied in the firms and human resources of a local territory.