Sense of belonging to an industrial district and knowledge acquisition: The role of strong and trusting interorganizational relations

Studying the level of sense of belonging in industrial districts is a key factor in understanding how firms acquire knowledge. This paper focuses on how the strength of ties and trust developed in interorganizational relationships drives the sense of belonging to the industrial district and leads firms to acquire knowledge. The proposed model was applied to a sample of 166 companies located in the industrial districts of the Spanish footwear industry. The findings suggest that the level of sense of belonging alone does not allow firms in industrial districts to directly acquire external knowledge. Only companies that are able to utilize their greater level of sense of belonging to industrial districts to generate strong and trusting relationships with other agents will acquire relevant knowledge. The study provides important empirical and theoretical contributions and several implications for managers.