While innovation is open and based on the networking of different actors, small and medium enterprises(SME) have a rising role to play in this field. French clusters, formal (as local productive systems,competitiveness clusters etc.) and informal, have significantly contributed to the SME innovation capacity byoffering them specific knowledge and skills that they couldn’t acquire if they remained isolated. The mainbody of this thesis is constructed within this perspective and seeks to shed a new light on the inter-enterpriseinnovation linkages. More precisely, the aim is to analyze the determinants of innovation of SMEs taking intoaccount their cooperation for innovation at a local, regional or national level. Within this scope, we develop atheoretical framework based on an analysis of different approaches of innovation, enhanced with elements ofthe geography of innovation proximity. This framework is then verified on empirical data firstly, at a regionallevel by studding different SME clusters of the Center Region and then, at a national level in an econometricstudy based on the survey data of Innovation (CIS4) on innovative SMEs. To conclude, the results show thatSMEs’ capacity to innovate arises from an internal and external complex process that, given the limitedresources of SMEs, should be based on effective innovation systems at different levels. SMEs’ cooperationfor innovation both in regional clusters and in national innovation systems can thus contribute to the creationof an ecosystem that is suitable for innovation.
