Collaborative and Collective: Reflexive Co-ordination and the Dynamics of Open Innovation in the Digital Industry Clusters of the Paris Region

Abstract

Economic geography increasingly conceptualises innovation as a collective action. However, the literature on clusters often reduces the collective dimension to the circulation of knowledge between local and regional organisations based on various forms of (market, organisational, social, institutional or cognitive) co-ordination. This paper diverges from this grass-roots perspective by discussing the role of collective actions in clusters—i.e. actions developed by a large number of cluster members acting as a group. Empirical evidence drawing on a study of three digital clusters in the Paris region shows that the cluster as a collective entity holds agency and—thanks to reflexive co-ordination—can contribute to open innovation, including innovation-seeking partnerships in the early stages of cluster life cycles.