Interactive effects of internal brokerage activities in clusters: The case of the Spanish Toy Valley

This study focuses on how different brokerage roles affect innovation by co-located firms. The study takes into account the effects of the interaction between brokerage activities and the firm's absorptive capacity and extra-cluster openness, and evaluates synergies that derive from the simultaneous development of two different brokerage profiles. Comprehensive fieldwork in the Toy Valley cluster in the Valencia region (Spain) shows that intermediating between firms that are in different positions in the local value system unevenly affects the broker's innovation capability. Furthermore, for roles with a high effect on innovation, the broker's absorptive capacity and extra-cluster connections moderate network position effects.