Do firms benefit from spatial proximity? Testing the relation between spatial proximity and the performance of small software firms in the Netherlands

There is a general belief that firms, one way or another, benefit from being located near other firms or organisations like universities or government agencies. This idea has attracted widespread interest among economic geographers, regional scientists and, more recently, policymakers. The problem is, however, that it is often merely assumed that these benefits exist and their existence is not actually tested. Therefore, there was a clear need to take a more systematic look at how and to what extent the performance of firms is affected by being located close to other organisations. To address... Mehr ...