How shared vision moderates the effects of absorptive capacity and networking on clustered firms’ innovation

• Firms can be understand as interconnected organizations.
• Shared vision embodies the collective goals and aspirations of a network.
• Shared vision activates positively relational resources from networking.
• Shared vision activates positively internal resources from absorptive capacity.
• Having shared vision with actors in the cluster enhances the innovation of the firm.

This paper will contribute to the line of research that seeks to identify the determinants of firms’ innovation performance. Focusing on the territorial dimension, we investigated the role played by shared vision in the effects of internal resources (absorptive capacity) and external resources (network positioning) on the innovation of firms. To address the research questions, the empirical study drew on a sample of firms belonging to the Valencian textile cluster in Spain. Our findings suggest that networking and firm resources affect performance independently. Furthermore, internal and relational resources are positively active thanks to shared vision. More generally, we aim to contribute to the discussion on the degree to which firms should be involved in the cluster network in order to gain competitive advantages.