1 Introduction -- 2 Innovation: its features and tools for analysis -- 3 Clusters -- 4 The innovation cluster of the German automotive components sector -- 5 Innovation in the telecommunication cluster -- 6 Cluster examples and cluster analysis: concluding remarks -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- List of figures -- List of tables -- References.

Innovation is the motor of economic change. Over the last fifteen years, researches in innovation processes have emphasised the systemic features of innovation. Whilst innovation system analysis traditionally takes a static institutional approach, cluster analysis focuses on interaction and the dynamics of technology and innovation. First, the volume gives an overview of the different levels of analysis from which the innovation behaviour of firms has been observed in the past. The book then presents a distinct cluster approach as a useful and innovative tool to analyse the configuration and dynamics of networks of actors involved in innovative processes. This approach emphasises the possibilities of enhancing cluster benefits by introducing virtual links between cluster actors. Empirical evidence is provided for the automotive components and the telecommunication industries. By restricting the discussion to Germany and Italy, the authors are able to explore the role that national innovation systems play as a framework in which clusters operate.