59

Based on a Marshallian perspective, most of the spatial analysis underlines the importance of two elements for innovation: the sectoral specialization, on the one hand, and the spatial agglomeration, on the other. Technological clusters are thus highly recommended by several developed countries (SPL and “poles de compétitivité” in France for instance) and international institutions (OECD, World Bank, European Union). Thanks to a detailed survey of a quite small industrial basin, Châtellerault, we test here these two proposals. First, we show that the economic development of Châtellerault is mainly driven by local competences. This sheds light on the relevance of historical competences to understand territorial development. Then, it appears that firms innovate as much as others territories thanks to non local collaborations. Therefore, sectoral specialization and agglomeration seem to be not always necessary for innovation and territorial development.