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This paper aims to focus on the role of clusters as home and host country-specific advantages for multinational enterprises (“MNEs”) in the organization of their internal and external networks to optimize the diffusion and generation of new knowledge. Strategic asset-seeking investment has been a major driver of the internalization of innovation activities performed by MNEs abroad. This paper demonstrates the attractiveness of foreign clusters in the global innovation process of MNEs. The main assumption is that location within innovative clusters may foster the ability of firms to generate new innovations.

This paper illustrates the theoretical developments through the example of firms located in the Basel pharmaceutical clusters which have invested in other clusters abroad.

The results are based on an in-depth patent data analysis and confirm the importance of clusters in an innovation-driven industry.

This paper focuses on the role of clusters as home and host country-specific advantages for “MNEs” in the organization of their internal and external networks to optimize the diffusion and generation of new knowledge. Strategic asset-seeking investment has been a major driver of the internalization of innovation activities performed by MNEs abroad. This paper demonstrates the attractiveness of foreign clusters in the global innovation process of MNEs. The main assumption is that location within innovative clusters may foster the ability of firms to generate new innovations. This paper illustrates the theoretical developments through the example of firms located in the Basel pharmaceutical clusters which have invested in other clusters abroad. The results are based on an in-depth patent data analysis and confirm the importance of clusters in an innovation-driven industry.

This paper offers an approach for outlining the main dimensions surrounding clusters in three areas of knowledge: economic geography, strategic management and operations management, the first being considered its natural field of knowledge.

The work was developed using the citation analysis technique as applied to a database of 627 articles and 22,980 citations, taken from 15 important journals in the areas selected.

The results proved that the theoretical and conceptual bases are unique to each of the areas studied and that they have few topics in common between them. They are complementary, however, and this facilitates their reconciliation.

The sample base, despite considering fairly influential periodicals in the areas of knowledge selected, can be considered to be a limitation.

Common themes and different areas of knowledge surrounding the cluster concept were identified; despite being considered “common”, a more detailed examination of their content reveals very different, but certainly complementary emphases, which makes it possible to reconcile the areas of knowledge.