Abstract

The paper's aim is to review the most relevant theoretical approaches used in the literature dealing with the location of high-tech firms. The survey covers different streams of literature within a number of disciplines ranging from economics to location theory, from industrial geography to regional science, from population ecology to diffusion theory. The literature review spans from early contributions of the so-called "German School" (Von Thunen, 1875; Weber, 1909; Christaller, 1933) to the latest sprouts of the New Economic Geography (originated by Krugman's contributions in 1991). The focus on high-tech firms highlights the role played by knowledge spillovers and inter and intra-industry technological linkages in determining the location decision and strategies of firms.