Industry clusters: an antidote for knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation?

Journal of Knowledge Management - Tập 18 Số 1 - Trang 137-151 - 2014
Julia Connell1, Anton Kriz, Michael Thorpe
1Curtin Business School, Curtin Univ., Perth, Australia

Tóm tắt

PurposeThis paper seeks to focus on industry clusters and a rationale for why they may be considered an antidote for stimulating knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation.Design/methodology/approachCommunity based participatory research was undertaken using case studies and interviews within four industry clusters based in two countries – Australia and Dubai. Findings were ranked according to a knowledge sharing relational framework.FindingsIndustry clusters can play a key role in growing both established and new areas of economic development. Member firm collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation can result in positive outcomes if the cluster is managed and facilitated appropriately and knowledge sharing is nurtured.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper examines top-down, hybrid and bottom-up clustering from a variety of sectors as a way of understanding knowledge sharing and innovation exchange. However, given this research comprised case studies, it is recommended that broader, more internationally generalizable research is conducted that includes cluster firms within a range of sectors.Practical implicationsThe stimulation of opportunities for collaboration and innovation are mandatory for firms and regions to move forward. Irrespective of the uncertainty of the outcome, cluster managers/facilitators need to ensure that they provide regular opportunities for cluster firms facilitators/managers and representatives to network and generate new ideas.Originality/valueThe role of cluster managers/facilitators in supporting knowledge sharing processes has been largely overlooked to date. Agglomeration needs both visible and invisible hands to stimulate knowledge sharing and exchange.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Arino, A. , Torre, J. and Ring, P.S. (2001), “Roles played by relational trust in strategic alliances”, Research Paper, 432, IESE.

Baum, J.A.C. and Berta, W.B. (1999), “Sources, timing, and speed: population-level learning by organizations in a longitudinal behavioral simulation”, in Miner, A. and Anderson, P. (Eds), Population-level Learning and Industry Change, Advances in Strategic Management, Vol. 16, JAI Press, Stamford, CT, pp. 155-184.

Bessant, J. (2004), “More than the sum of its part”, Financial Times, September 24, available at: www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/6ce370f0-0e0b-11d9-97d3 00000e2511c8.html#axzz1ooromzzm (accessed 7 March 2012).

Brown, J.S. and Duguid, P. (1998), “Organizing knowledge”, California Management Review, Vol. 40 No. 3, p. -.

Chandler, A. (1977), The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Belknap Press and Harvard University Press, Boston, MA.

Chesbrough, H. (2006), Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.

Connell, J. and Voola, R. (2007), “Strategic alliances and knowledge sharing: synergies or silos”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 52-66.

Cooke, P. and Leydesdorff, L. (2006), “Regional development in the knowledge-based economy: the construction of advantage”, Journal of Technology Transfer, Vol. 31, pp. 5-15.

Cummings, J.C. (2003), Knowledge Sharing: A Review of the Literature, Operations Evaluation Department, World Bank, Washington, DC.

Cummings, J.L. and Teng, B. (2006), “The keys to successful knowledge-sharing”, Journal of General Management, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 1-18.

Engel, J. and del-Palacio, I. (2009), “Global networks of clusters of innovation: accelerating the innovation process”, Business Horizons, Vol. 52, pp. 493-503.

Ewers, M. and Malecki, E. (2010), “Leapfrogging into the knowledge economy: assessing the economic development strategies of the Arab Gulf States”, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Vol. 101 No. 5, pp. 494-508.

Fafchamps, M. (2001), “Networks, communities and markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: implications for firm growth and investment”, Journal of African Economies, Vol. 10, pp. 109-142.

Ferguson, J.E. and Cummings, S. (2008), “Knowledge management in practice. The case of international development”, in Koohang, A. , Harman, K. and Britz, J. (Eds), Knowledge Management: Research and Application, Informing Science Press, Santa Rosa, CA, pp. 75-112.

Fukuyama, F. (1995), Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, The Free Press, New York, NY.

Hamel, G. (1991), “Competition for competence and interpartner learning within international strategic alliances”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12, pp. 83-103.

Howarth, C. , Gillin, M. and Bailey, J. (1995), Strategic Alliances, Resource-sharing Strategies for Smart Companies, Pitman Publishing, Melbourne.

Ketels, C. (2003), “The development of the cluster concept – present experiences and further developments”, paper prepared for NRW Conference on Clusters, Duisburg, Germany, December.

Kim, S. and Lee, H. (2005), “Employee knowledge sharing capabilities in public and private organizations: does organizational context matter?”, HICSS '05, Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1385750&isnumber=30166.

Kriz, A. and Keating, B. (2010), “Business relationships in China: lessons about deep trust”, Asia Pacific Business Review, Vol. 16, pp. 299-318.

Lane, C. and Bachmann, R. (Eds) (1998), Trust Within and Between Organizations: Conceptual Issues and Empirical Applications, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 241-272.

Liebowitz, J. and Chen, Y. (2001), “Developing knowledge sharing proficiencies”, Knowledge Management Review, Vol. 3 No. 6, pp. 12-15.

Lynch, R.P. (1993), Business Alliances Guide: The Hidden Competitive Weapon, John Wiley, Chichester.

Martin, P. , Mayer, T. and Mayneris, F. (2008), “Natural clusters: why policies promoting agglomeration are unnecessary”, available at: www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/1354 (accessed 14 May 2009).

Medcof, J.W. (1997), “Why too many alliances end in divorce”, Long Range Planning, Vol. 30 No. 5, pp. 718-732.

Montana, J.P. and Nenide, B. (2008), “The evolution of regional industry clusters and their implications for sustainable economic development: two case illustrations”, Economic Development Quarterly, Vol. 22 No. 4.

Motoyama, Y. (2008), “What was new about the cluster theory?: What could it answer and what could it not answer?”, Economic Development Quarterly, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 353-363.

Murphy, J.T. (2006), “Building trust in economic space”, Progress in Human Geography, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 427-450.

Niu, K-H. (2010), “Organizational trust and knowledge obtaining in industrial clusters”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 141-155.

OECD (2001), Innovative Clusters. Drivers of National Innovative Systems, Enterprise, Industry and Services, OECD Publications, Paris.

OECD (2005), Business Clusters, Promoting Enterprise in Central and Eastern Europe, OECD Publications, Paris.

OECD (2007), Competitive Regional Clusters: National Policy Approaches, OECD, Paris.

Ostrom, E. and Walker, J. (2003), Trust and Reciprocity: Interdisciplinary Lessons from Experimental Research, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, NY.

Parrilli, M. (2007), SME Cluster Development: A Dynamic View of Survival Clusters in Developing Countries, Palgrave and Macmillan, New York, NY.

Porter, M. (1998), “Clusters and the new economics of competition”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 76, pp. 77-90.

Scott, G. and Garner, R. (2013), Doing Qualitative Research: Design, Methods and Techniques, Pearson, New York, NY.

Simmie, J. (2008), “The contribution of clustering to innovation: from Porter I agglomeration to Porter II export base theories”, in Karlsson, C. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Innovation in Clusters, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Solvell, O. , Lindqvist, G. and Ketels, C. (2003), The Cluster Initiative Greenbook, VINNOVA, Gothenburg.

Swann, P. , Prevezer, M. and Stout, D. (Eds) (1998), The Dynamics of Industrial Clustering: International Comparisons in Computing and Biotechnology, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Tallman, S. , Jenkins, M. , Henry, N. and Pinch, S. (2004), “Knowledge, clusters, and competitive advantage”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 258-271.

Watson, J. (2011), “Fostering innovation-led clusters A review of leading global practices”, The Economist, available at: www.managementthinking.eiu.com/sites/default/files/downloads/EIU-ATIC_Report2_Web_Revised.pdf.

World Bank (2009), Clusters for Competitiveness, A Practical Guide and Policy Implications for Developing Cluster Initiatives, International Trade Department, World Bank, Washington, DC.

Yusuf, S. (2008), “Can clusters be made to order?”, in Yusuf, S. , Nabeshima, K. and Yamashita, S. (Eds), Growing Industrial Clusters in Asia: Serendipity and Science, The World Bank, Washington, DC.

Cooke, P. , Asheim, B. , Boschma, R. , Martin, R. , Schwartz, D. and Todtling, F. (2011), Handbook of Regional Innovation and Growth, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.

Hilliard, R. and Jacobson, D. (2011), “Cluster versus firm-specific factors in the development of dynamic capabilities in the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland: a study of responses to changes in environmental protection regulations”, Regional Studies, Vol. 45 No. 10, pp. 1319-1328.

Kriz, A. , Molloy, C. and Denness, B. (2012), Global Importance of Innovation Champions: Insights from China, Evolution of Innovation Management – New Ways for Innovations in an International Context, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke.

Luo, Y. (2002), “Building trust in cross-cultural collaborations: toward a contingency perspective”, Journal of Management, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 669-694.

Madhok, A. (1997), “Cost, value and for-seeing market entry model: the transaction and the firm”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 18, pp. 39-61.

Malmerg, A. and Power, D. (2005), “How do firms in clusters create knowledge?”, Industry and Innovation, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 409-431.

Porter, M. (2003), “Clusters and regional competitiveness, recent learnings”, paper presented at the International Conference on Technology Clusters, Montreal, Canada.