A Theory of Manufacturing Innovation Ecosystems in Emerging Economies: Insights from Nigerian Industrial Clusters

This dissertation develops an original theory of manufacturing innovation ecosystems in emerging economies, grounded in empirical evidence from Nigerian industrial clusters in Aba, Nnewi, Kano, and Ikorodu. Existing innovation ecosystem theory has been developed primarily from Silicon Valley and European innovation district cases, embedding assumptions about formal knowledge institutions, intellectual property protection regimes, and financialisation of innovation that do not translate to the institutional environments of Nigeria's manufacturing clusters. The theory development process follows a rigorous grounded theory methodology, employing theoretical sampling and constant comparative analysis across sixty-eight in-depth interviews with cluster firms, industry associations, vocational training institutions, raw material suppliers, and government extension agencies. A novel conceptual model, designated the Adaptive Cluster Innovation Network model, is generated from the grounded theory analysis, identifying four ecosystem mechanisms absent from existing theory: tacit knowledge transmission through apprenticeship cascades, collective reverse engineering as an innovation pathway, crisis-driven rapid product adaptation, and diaspora technology bridging. The model is further developed through theoretical elaboration using institutional economics and evolutionary economic geography perspectives. Quantitative validation using network analysis methods applied to a mapping of one hundred and forty-two innovation interactions within the Nnewi automotive components cluster provides structural confirmation of the model's core propositions. Keywords: innovation ecosystems, industrial clusters, grounded theory, Nnewi, emerging economies