Abstract
The process of geographic agglomeration of firms is explained in the economic literature with regard to at least two different views: the traditional frameworks relate to the existence of “external economies” or “agglomeration economies” in explaining the clustering of firms in a geographically defined area. While, more recent studies have highlighted social ties, knowledge inheritance and spin-offs formation in shaping the emergence of firms in a cluster without referring to the existence of agglomeration economies. This paper analyzes the case of the swimwear industrial district in Oleggio with the intent of discussing some hypotheses about the links between the evolution of the cluster and the role of spin-offs and prior knowledge. We provide evidence that knowledge inheritance and spin-offs formation contributed in the emergence of the district.