Spatial Proximity Versus Social Distance: Partnership Development in the Cross-Border Cooperation

Since the 1990s, the European Commission has paid great attention to innovation processes and knowledge transfer, stimulating and financing several research and cooperation programs. Recent geopolitical transformations have shifted attention towards the integrations between the European Member States and the Neighboring Countries. Literature produced many contributions over the past two decades with a focus on knowledge sharing, space dimension, and the role played by each actor involved within networks analyzed, but a lack remains in the field of cross-border cooperation. This research gap is addressed in this paper by investigating the main dynamics that led to new partnerships and networks of collaboration. Spatial proximity, social distance, and the individual characteristics are analyzed taking into account the relations that influence the decision to cooperate. Data are collected considering the first call for proposal of the Interreg IPA CBC Italy Albania-Montenegro Programme, analyzing both the effects of social and geographical distance, beyond the effects of individual characteristics of each partner involved. The results suggest that network effects are present; social closeness is significantly associated with partners’ choice and this indicates that connections within a network are influenced by the position that each node assumes; consequently, the network effects are more relevant than the spatial one.