Studying the level of sense of belonging in industrial districts is a key factor in understanding how firms acquire knowledge. This paper focuses on how the strength of ties and trust developed in interorganizational relationships drives the sense of belonging to the industrial district and leads firms to acquire knowledge. The proposed model was applied to a sample of 166 companies located in the industrial districts of the Spanish footwear industry. The findings suggest that the level of sense of belonging alone does not allow firms in industrial districts to directly acquire external knowledge. Only companies that are able to utilize their greater level of sense of belonging to industrial districts to generate strong and trusting relationships with other agents will acquire relevant knowledge. The study provides important empirical and theoretical contributions and several implications for managers.

中文翻译：

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对工业区的归属感和知识获取：牢固和信任的组织间关系的作用

研究工业区的归属感水平是了解企业如何获取知识的关键因素。本文着重探讨组织间关系中建立的联系和信任的力量如何驱动对工业区的归属感并引导企业获取知识。提议的模型应用于位于西班牙制鞋业工业区的166家公司的样本。研究结果表明，仅凭归属感就无法使工业区的企业直接获得外部知识。只有能够利用自己对工业区的较高归属感与其他代理商建立牢固和信任的关系的公司才能获得相关知识。