Addressing the role of regional clusters in the context of ongoing globalization, this timely book investigates the two seemingly competing trends of globalization and localization from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. International case studies offer pioneering insights into the internationalization process of regional clusters and the effect of this on regional as well as firm performance.

This volume shows that in today’s globalized world, clusters are an important factor in explaining the different growth rates of firms, cities and regions. Drawing on the expertise of an international contributor team, it covers topics such as clusters and small and medium-sized enterprise competitiveness, innovation and science parks, clusters and multinationals, and information and communication technology clusters. It reveals great diversity in terms of the origin of clusters, the organizational relationships at play, and the characteristics of the firms involved. Taking lessons from a rich variety of literature and empirical cases, the book provides valuable insights for regional development and industrial policy. Economic Clusters and Globalization will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in economic geography, regional studies, entrepreneurship and international business.

Clustering as an economic policy concern has become increasingly fashionable. The authors of this book shed light on this subject of which there remains remarkably little understanding, and even less agreement, regarding what clusters are, what they require for success and what impacts they are likely to have in different contexts, locally, nationally and globally. Clusters and Globalisation brings together scholars with different perspectives and theoretical groundings, and from different disciplines, to consider conceptual arguments and case study material. In doing so the volume identifies key characteristics and requirements of the forms of cluster that are especially significant for the attainment of economic success in a globalising world. This unique critical analysis of clusters in the framework of globalisation will strongly appeal to students and academics with an interest in economic development, public policy and globalisation. The book will also be of great interest to researchers in policy agencies concerned with local economic development and the design of cluster policies.

The debate on the competitiveness of local and regional clusters in the current globalized markets is a priority as globalization puts pressure on such production systems and forces them to find new ways of competition and sustainability. Many traditional clusters may be constrained by the growth of transnational value chains and production networks that benefit from cheap resources and workforce as well as softer regulations that may be reaped in other parts of the world. This situation is even more palpable with the internationalization of innovation networks that may replace the former relevant regional and national innovation systems. This volume discusses the features of successful clusters and the threats and opportunities they currently face in such globalized environment and offers some perspectives and solutions to sustain the resilience of local and regional production systems. This book was published as a special issue of European Planning Systems.

This authoritative collection reprints the key articles in the field of locational clustering, and the relationship between local clusters and the activities of multinational firms. It covers both the principal theoretical and statistical explanations of the clustering of firms in common locations, and includes a selection of important empirical studies of this phenomenon. Special attention is given to the role played by knowledge spillovers, and notably the geographical dimension of the relationship between firms and universities. Further articles demonstrate how, contrary to some popular beliefs, globalization is not only consistent with the emergence of a new emphasis upon locational clustering, but in many ways it has helped to promote the differentiation of the productive capabilities of different locations, and so has reinforced clustering and reflected it. Globalization and the Location of Firms will appeal to all those interested in the revival of the role of location in economics and business, from any of a variety of perspectives on the subject.

Recent economic transformations in the world economy are progressing in two divergent directions – international production fragmentation and industrial agglomeration. Based on extensive data analysis and using models of interdependencies between key economies, this book analyses innovation systems that cross national borders. It is shown that technological complexity is an important factor in the formation of highly specific production networks, and why, for a number of production systems, fragmentation and clustering are two sides of the same coin. By outlining the picture of a world economy structured around networks of clusters and joined together through systems of linkages of components, people and knowledge flows, the author helps to promote a better understanding of recent economic transformations.

The international fragmentation of economic activities – from research and design to production and marketing – described through the lens of the global value chain (GVC) approach impacts the structure and performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) agglomerated in economic clusters. The consolidation of GVCs ruled by global lead firms and the recession of 2008-09 exacerbated the pressures on cluster actors that based their competitive advantage on local systems, spurring an increasing heterogeneity, both across and within clusters, that is still overlooked in the literature. Drawing on detailed studies of different industries and countries, Local Clusters in Global Value Chains shows the co-evolutionary trajectories of clusters and GVCs, and the role of firms and their strategies in organizing manufacturing and innovation activities in the context of ongoing technological shifts. The book explores the tension between place-based variables and global drivers of change, and the possibility for territories containing such clusters to prosper in the new global scenario. By adopting insights from the GVC framework and management studies, the book discusses how the internationalization strategies of firms create opportunities as well as constraints for adaptive upgrading in clusters. This book is of interest to both researchers and policy-makers who are interested in the dynamic sources of competitive advantage in the global economy.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of what Asian industrial clusters might teach us. At a time when the dynamics of the world''s economy are increasingly being influenced by developments in Asia, the question takes on particular relevance because of the explosion of clusters and cluster policies throughout the region; and because of the great variety of models which can be seen developing in the various countries. Based on robust empirical surveys and interviews conducted in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, the studies collected in this book were first debated at an international workshop in Lyon. From industrial districts to poles of competitiveness, these studies explored the transformation of traditional systems of activities or industrial districts to new networks ready for global competition or innovation, and also the development of new agglomerations or scientific knowledge clusters. The wide range of case studies in this collection offers a rich store of theoretical and practical lessons for analysts, policy-makers and economists. The book will also be a useful guide for graduate students as well as researchers in economics, sociology and political studies.

This new book contains contributions on countries from Italy and Mexico to China and India. It recognises the disparity between conditions in these countries and poses interesting questions about post cluster globalisation.