An Anatomy of Bengaluru's ICT Cluster: A Community Detection Approach

Abstract

We use community detection analysis to investigate the structure of Bengaluru's ICT cluster's inter-organizational network during the period 2015–2017. Building on the knowledge sourcing literature, we conjecture that cluster firms primarily build knowledge-seeking horizontal linkages with technologically similar companies, and that this splits the network into multiple technological communities within which firms are tightly connected, but between which linkages are scarce. We further propose that community-spanning firms which build horizontal linkages that bridge technological communities are more likely to conduct radical innovation than their peers. We finally argue that no relation exists between technological proximity and community formation in the network of vertical buyer-supplier relations. Using a voltage-based algorithm for community discovery, we draw empirical support for these predictions. We discuss the implications of our findings for Bengaluru's upgrading potential.

The Impact of Co-Inventor Networks on Smart Cleantech Innovation: The Case of Montreal Agglomeration

“…It has been argued that positive spillovers and positive impact on innovation happen in the process of complex interactions among an ecosystem's agents [4,[33][34][35][36][37]. There is extensive research that demonstrates that the structure of local social relationships has an important effect on the ecosystem's economic performance and innovation [14,[38][39][40]. For instance, Hervas-Oliver and Albors-Garrigos [41] analyzed the leading European ceramic tile cluster and discovered that there is a synergistic effect from the interaction between a firm's internal and relational resources.…”

“…Moreover, there are studies that argue that collaborations between firms that do not necessarily share any proximities can also be beneficial, because this can help recombine information and knowledge and come up with radical innovations. For instance, Turkina and Van Assche [40] found out that more radical innovations in the Bangalore tech hub emerged as the result of formal inter-firm cooperation between firms from different technological communities.…”

Innovation and Entrepreneurship in India: An Overview

“…As mentioned earlier, Bengaluru is a key innovation hub in India, sometimes referred to the Silicon Valley of India (Arora & Gambardella, 2005). The contribution by Turkina and Van Assche (2019), ‘An Anatomy of Bengaluru's ICT Cluster: A Community Detection Approach’, systematically investigates the anatomy and structure of the information communications technology (ICT) cluster in the region using a variety of analytical methods, including a voltage-based algorithm – a tool for community discovery that that is relatively novel in regional studies. The article is based on a hand-collected dataset of 1,823 firms from different sources.…”

How Knowledge Services Clustered Firms Leverage Different Channels of Local Knowledge Spillovers for Service Innovation

“…In addition, KSC provides an intriguing setting for this study owing to their important positions in global sourcing and locational choice strategies of transnational firms (Rodgers, Khan, Tarba, Nurgabdeshov, & Ahammad, 2019). However, international business literature regards service provider firms as 2 T. N. B. Ngo and S. Thornton subordinate only (Brandl, Jensen, & Lind, 2018;Lorenzen, 2019) and stresses the importance of global sources of knowledge over local sources of knowledge, such as LKS, in the innovation process of knowledge service providers in developing countries (Turkina & Van Assche, 2019). This premise introduces a hitherto unexplored phenomenon into the role of LKS in such innovation processes.…”

“…This research elucidates the underlying causal mechanisms by which service provider firms in developing countries can offer new or more advanced services. Third, in doing so, it contributes to the cluster upgrading and global services sourcing literature (Gebreeyesus & Mohnen, 2013;Kimura, 2011;Manning, 2013;Manning et al, 2010;Ramirez, Clarke, & Klerkx, 2018;Turkina & Van Assche, 2019). Spinoff is proven to be an effective mechanism of LKS when firms possess a highly educated workforce, that is, high degree of absorptive capacity, and capitalize on informal interactions with other colocated organizations.…”