Knowledge diffusion at business events: A case study

We investigated how business events stimulate processes of knowledge diffusion by conducting a case study of a trade fair. Taking the perspective of temporary clusters, we viewed trade fairs as networks and used social network analysis (SNA) to study their knowledge diffusion network structure. The results show that: (1) knowledge diffusion at trade fairs is flat, coherent, and efficient, but uneven; (2) trade fairs have more advantages in the diffusion of market-strategic knowledge, and leading firms with strong R&D abilities receive greater attention. With a solid theoretical foundation supplied by current research on industrial clusters and SNA, this study explores the dynamic process of knowledge diffusion at business events, providing new ideas with theoretical and practical implications for future research on business events.