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Location, Competition, and Economic Development: Local Clusters in a Global Economy
Michael E. Porter
Harvard University - Strategy Unit
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship
Abstract:
Although it is widely recognized that changes in technology and competition have diminished many of the traditional roles of location, this study argues for a prominent role of clusters, or geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions in a particular field that compete but also cooperate. Clusters are a striking feature of virtually every national, regional, state, and even metropolitan economy, and can be seen as a new way of thinking about different level economies. Their prevalence reveals important insights about the microeconomics of competition and the role of location in competitive advantage. Clusters occur in many types of industries, in large and small economies, in rural and urban areas, and at most geographic levels. The most important reason for using clusters, rather than more traditional groupings (e.g. companies, industries, sectors), as a unit of analysis is that clusters are better aligned with the nature of competition and appropriate roles of government. They are broader than traditional industry categorizations, and thus capture important linkages, complementarities, and spillovers in terms of technology, skills, information, marketing, and customer needs that cut across firms and industries. The study argues that proximity in geographic, cultural, and institutional terms of the institutions and businesses within clusters plays an important role in allowing special access and relationships, as well as better information, powerful incentives, and other advantages in productivity that are more difficult to achieve from a distance. Clusters have three major effects on competition: 1) increasing the current (static) productivity of constituent firms or industries; 2) increasing the capacity of cluster participants for innovation and productivity growth; and 3) stimulating new business formation that supports innovation and expands the cluster. The study argues that government should focus on facilitating cluster development and upgrading, with special attention to established and emerging clusters rather than new clusters. (AT)
Keywords: Specialization, Firm location, Geography, Innovation process, Economic policies, Economic development, Social networks, Productivity growth, Institutional alliances, Regional economies, Clusters, Market competition, Competitive advantages, Geographic distribution, Cultural attitudes
Accepted Paper Series
Date posted: November 17, 2009
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