The Effects of Knowledge Spillover on Innovative Performance of Knowledge Intensive Firms in IT Sector

Firms invest in their learning activities to improve their innovative efforts. These kinds of activities are either internal or external. Knowledge which Flows among local actors is one of the external learning factors. Spontaneous knowledge flows among firms without any compensation or with compensation less than the real value is called knowledge spillover. This paper analyzes the effect of knowledge spillover as an independent variable on innovative performance of knowledge intensive firms as a dependent variable. To this end، this qualitative research is conducted using a questionnaire. Data is collected from executives and experts of 66 firms in IT industry located in science and technology parks of Tehran. The results analyzed using SPSS and Smart PLS software and Structural Equations Modeling indicated that knowledge spillover، through labor mobility، informal Interaction and spinoff companies، has a significant positive impact on innovative performance of IT firms based in science and technology parks of Tehran.