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A Tale of Two Clusters: Sharing Resources to Compete

Nilsson, Magnus LU (2008) In Lund Studies in Economics and Management
Abstract
“The death of distance” has become the battle cry of a modern generation of managers, policy makers and scientists who embrace the new globalized economy and its promise of frictionless exchange across the world. While highly influential, this view does not, however, stand unchallenged. Over the last 15 years, there has been a growing interest in the geographical clustering of industry. Well-known studies of such clusters, in for example, Silicon Valley and the industrial districts of northern Italy, have provided accounts that dispute the death of distance doctrine and breathe life into the debate of what has come to be known as the globalization paradox.

This book investigates the phenomenon of clustering by drawing on theories... (More)
“The death of distance” has become the battle cry of a modern generation of managers, policy makers and scientists who embrace the new globalized economy and its promise of frictionless exchange across the world. While highly influential, this view does not, however, stand unchallenged. Over the last 15 years, there has been a growing interest in the geographical clustering of industry. Well-known studies of such clusters, in for example, Silicon Valley and the industrial districts of northern Italy, have provided accounts that dispute the death of distance doctrine and breathe life into the debate of what has come to be known as the globalization paradox.

This book investigates the phenomenon of clustering by drawing on theories from two distinct research areas: agglomeration theory stemming primarily from economic geography, and the resources-based view of the firm originating in strategic management theory. The aim is to explain the way in which clusters of co-located and interconnected companies within a specific field are affected by their location. This is done by investigating two such clusters: one in Southern Ontario, Canada and one in Skåne, Sweden. Both clusters are focused on the food industry.

In explaining the effects on firms’ competitiveness from their location in a cluster, the book elaborates on the importance of the process of identifying and evaluating firm-external resources, how firms must work to gain access to such resources, and what the central elements are for utilizing these resources in order to create competitive advantage. With the investigation of the role of the cluster in facilitating the process of identification, evaluation, access, and utilization of firm-external but cluster-specific resources, this book represents a contribution to theories within both strategic management and economic geography. (Less)
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author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Maskell, Peter, Institut for Industriøkonomi og Virksomhedsstrategi, Copenhagen Business School
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Proximity, Competitiveness, Firm-external resources, Cluster theory, Resource-based view
in
Lund Studies in Economics and Management
pages
349 pages
publisher
Lund Business Press
defense location
Crafoordsalen, Holger Crafoords Ekonomicentrum, Tycho Brahes väg 1, Lund
defense date
2008-09-25 10:00:00
ISSN
0284-5075
ISBN
91-85113-30-1
978-91-85113-30-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
aeb51307-f42f-4968-bcd8-c0996bdfc96d (old id 1221229)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:26:19
date last changed
2019-05-21 19:12:32
@phdthesis{aeb51307-f42f-4968-bcd8-c0996bdfc96d,
  abstract     = {{“The death of distance” has become the battle cry of a modern generation of managers, policy makers and scientists who embrace the new globalized economy and its promise of frictionless exchange across the world. While highly influential, this view does not, however, stand unchallenged. Over the last 15 years, there has been a growing interest in the geographical clustering of industry. Well-known studies of such clusters, in for example, Silicon Valley and the industrial districts of northern Italy, have provided accounts that dispute the death of distance doctrine and breathe life into the debate of what has come to be known as the globalization paradox. <br/><br>
This book investigates the phenomenon of clustering by drawing on theories from two distinct research areas: agglomeration theory stemming primarily from economic geography, and the resources-based view of the firm originating in strategic management theory. The aim is to explain the way in which clusters of co-located and interconnected companies within a specific field are affected by their location. This is done by investigating two such clusters: one in Southern Ontario, Canada and one in Skåne, Sweden. Both clusters are focused on the food industry. <br/><br>
In explaining the effects on firms’ competitiveness from their location in a cluster, the book elaborates on the importance of the process of identifying and evaluating firm-external resources, how firms must work to gain access to such resources, and what the central elements are for utilizing these resources in order to create competitive advantage. With the investigation of the role of the cluster in facilitating the process of identification, evaluation, access, and utilization of firm-external but cluster-specific resources, this book represents a contribution to theories within both strategic management and economic geography.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Magnus}},
  isbn         = {{91-85113-30-1}},
  issn         = {{0284-5075}},
  keywords     = {{Proximity; Competitiveness; Firm-external resources; Cluster theory; Resource-based view}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Lund Business Press}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Studies in Economics and Management}},
  title        = {{A Tale of Two Clusters: Sharing Resources to Compete}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}