Labour Relations and the Transfer of Knowledge in Industrial Clusters: Why do Skilled Workers Share Knowledge with Colleagues in Other Firms?

Abstract

Industrial clusters are held to offer competitive advantages to firms that accrue from the transfer of tacit knowledge between skilled workers co-located in spatially bound regions. This paper argues that informal knowledge transfers between skilled employees working in spatially bounded industrial clusters might have an association with the labour relationship between employers and employees. In the literature on industrial clusters general knowledge is readily traded through codified texts and collegial networks but high value, tacit knowledge transfers occur less frequently but are critical to the success of firms located in clusters. Tacit knowledge transfers are held to occur when workers move to other firms because of firm death or poaching but less frequently through contacts between colleagues from other firms. Industrial clusters are said to offer labour market advantages for skilled workers in the form of ample job opportunities and rising wages, which engender firm loyalty and discourage the transfer of tacit knowledge of competitive value to other firms. However, the limited empirical evidence available on actual working conditions for skilled workers in regional industrial clusters indicates that this argument is contestable. Some evidence suggests that there are limited wage premiums accruing to the industrial districts, a limited role for geographic proximity, and weak localised returns on seniority and education. We argue that in such circumstances high value knowledge between workers in different firms might be traded as an act of epistemic solidarity or sociability that disregards the interests of employer organisations. Such actions might vary by region and country in relation to the prevailing system of labour relations. Australian labour relations are offered as a case in point.

Booster or Killer? Research on Undertaking Transferred Industries and Residents’ Well-Being Improvements

“…et al used the shift-share method and spatial panel model to analyze the impact of industrial transfers on the surrounding haze empirically [ 32 ]. At the same time, some invisible industrial transfers, such as the flow of industrial personnel, would also significantly affect the economic structure of neighboring areas [ 33 ]. In order to fully consider the impact of undertaking an industrial transfer on residents’ well-being, this paper draws on the research of Xu J.et al and uses the spatial model considering the time-space effect to evaluate the industrial transfer [ 34 ].…”

Occupational commitment, industrial relations and turnover intention

“…Similarly, industrial relations within a firm is another critical factor that can have significant impacts on the firms' daily operation and further development (Lee Hansen, 2002). Extant studies frequently choose to examine the content of industrial relations at cluster, regional or national level, and suggest that employment relations are not only affecting firms' economic benefits but also, as some recent studies argue, are closely related to tacit knowledge diffusion and spillovers among skilled workers in different firms (Wilson and Spoehr, 2010). Therefore, a more detailed investigation of the factors that influence industrial relations in firms nowadays becomes an essential research question.…”

A new model to optimize the knowledge exchange in industrial cluster: A case study of Semnan plaster production industrial cluster

“…Lopez-Saez et al [30] assessed the applicability of the SECI model (Nonaka and Takeuchi) to the processes of external knowledge acquisition for rms located on knowledge-intensive clusters. Wilson and Spoehr [31] argued that informal knowledge transfers between skilled employees working in spatially bounded industrial clusters might have an association with the labour relationship between employers and employees.…”