IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i12p3338-d240387.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Innovation Clusters Revisited: On Dimensions of Agglomeration, Institution, and Built-Environment

Author

Listed:
  • Jianyi Li

    (School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

  • Douglas Webster

    (School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

  • Jianming Cai

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    School of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Larissa Muller

    (Urban International LLC, Los Altos, CA 94022, USA)

Abstract

Innovation clusters have been the key concept underlying economic development theory and practice since the concept was re-energized in the 1990s. Worldwide efforts promoting cluster development are supposed to be informed by research on cluster dynamics. The plethora of articles and reports on this globally hyped concept often add to the confusion, calling for a systematic synthesis. In academia, the discussion of innovation clusters is characterized by separate literature dealing with agglomeration, institution, and built-environment. This literature review addresses each of those three dimensions, respectively, by discussing both classic perceptions and potential directions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianyi Li & Douglas Webster & Jianming Cai & Larissa Muller, 2019. "Innovation Clusters Revisited: On Dimensions of Agglomeration, Institution, and Built-Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3338-:d:240387
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3338/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3338/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naresh R. Pandit & Gary A. S. Cook & Feng Wan & Jonathan V. Beaverstock & Pervez N. Ghauri, 2018. "The Economies and Diseconomies of Industrial Clustering: Multinational Enterprises versus Uninational Enterprises," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 935-967, December.
    2. Tan, Justin, 2006. "Growth of industry clusters and innovation: Lessons from Beijing Zhongguancun Science Park," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 827-850, November.
    3. Schrammel, Tine, 2013. "Bridging the Institutional Void: An Analytical Concept to Develop Valuable Cluster Services," management revue. Socio-economic Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 24(2), pages 114-132.
    4. Nishimura, Junichi & Okamuro, Hiroyuki, 2011. "Subsidy and networking: The effects of direct and indirect support programs of the cluster policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 714-727, June.
    5. Niusha Esmaeilpoorarabi & Tan Yigitcanlar & Mirko Guaralda, 2016. "Place quality and urban competitiveness symbiosis? A position paper," International Journal of Knowledge-Based Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 7(1), pages 4-21.
    6. N. A. Phelps & R. J. Fallon & C. L. Williams, 2001. "Small Firms, Borrowed Size and the Urban-Rural Shift," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(7), pages 613-624.
    7. Julie Tian Miao, 2017. "Housing the knowledge economy in China: An examination of housing provision in support of science parks," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(6), pages 1426-1445, May.
    8. Bjørn Asheim & Høgni Kalsø Hansen, 2009. "Knowledge Bases, Talents, and Contexts: On the Usefulness of the Creative Class Approach in Sweden," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 85(4), pages 425-442, October.
    9. Krugman, Paul, 1991. "Increasing Returns and Economic Geography," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 483-499, June.
    10. Bernard Ganne & Yveline Lecler, 2009. "Asian Industrial Clusters : Global Competitiveness and New Policy Initiatives," Post-Print halshs-00356224, HAL.
    11. Rui Baptista & Joana Mendonça, 2010. "Proximity to knowledge sources and the location of knowledge-based start-ups," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 45(1), pages 5-29, August.
    12. Claudia Williamson, 2009. "Informal institutions rule: institutional arrangements and economic performance," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 371-387, June.
    13. Schrammel, Tine, 2013. "Bridging the Institutional Void: An Analytical Concept to Develop Valuable Cluster Services," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 24(2), pages 114-132.
    14. Michael E. Porter, 2000. "Location, Competition, and Economic Development: Local Clusters in a Global Economy," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 14(1), pages 15-34, February.
    15. Chris Benner, 2003. "Learning Communities in a Learning Region: The Soft Infrastructure of Cross-Firm Learning Networks in Silicon Valley," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 35(10), pages 1809-1830, October.
    16. Yu, Haitao & Jiao, Junfeng & Houston, Eric & Peng, Zhong-Ren, 2018. "Evaluating the relationship between rail transit and industrial agglomeration: An observation from the Dallas-fort worth region, TX," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 33-52.
    17. Zheng, Xiao-Ping, 2001. "Determinants of agglomeration economies and diseconomies: : empirical evidence from Tokyo," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 131-144.
    18. Geoffrey G. Bell, 2005. "Clusters, networks, and firm innovativeness," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 287-295, March.
    19. Ron Martin & Peter Sunley, 1998. "Slow Convergence? The New Endogenous Growth Theory and Regional Development," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(3), pages 201-227, July.
    20. Saeed Parto, 2008. "Innovation and Economic Activity: An Institutional Analysis of the Role of Clusters in Industrializing Economies," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 1005-1030, December.
    21. J Knoben & AT Arikan & F van Oort & O Raspe, 2016. "Agglomeration and firm performance: One firm’s medicine is another firm’s poison," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(1), pages 132-153, January.
    22. Gilbert, Brett Anitra & McDougall, Patricia P. & Audretsch, David B., 2008. "Clusters, knowledge spillovers and new venture performance: An empirical examination," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 405-422, July.
    23. Thomas Niedomysl & Høgni Kalsø Hansen, 2010. "What Matters more for the Decision to Move: Jobs versus Amenities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(7), pages 1636-1649, July.
    24. Helsley, Robert W. & Strange, William C., 1991. "Agglomeration economies and urban capital markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 96-112, January.
    25. J. Myles Shaver & Fredrick Flyer, 2000. "Agglomeration economies, firm heterogeneity, and foreign direct investment in the United States," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(12), pages 1175-1193, December.
    26. N.A. Phelps, 2004. "Clusters, Dispersion and the Spaces in Between: For an Economic Geography of the Banal," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(5-6), pages 971-989, May.
    27. Fromhold-Eisebith, Martina & Eisebith, Gunter, 2005. "How to institutionalize innovative clusters? Comparing explicit top-down and implicit bottom-up approaches," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 1250-1268, October.
    28. Börje Johansson & Charlie Karlsson & Roger Stough (ed.), 2006. "The Emerging Digital Economy," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-540-34488-9, Fall.
    29. Maximilian Benner, 2012. "Cluster Policy as a Development Strategy. Case Studies from the Middle East and North Africa," Working Paper Series in Economics 255, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    30. Folta, Timothy B. & Cooper, Arnold C. & Baik, Yoon-suk, 2006. "Geographic cluster size and firm performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 217-242, March.
    31. Gert–Jan Hospers & Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2002. "Regional Cluster Policies: Learning by Comparing?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 381-402, August.
    32. Nicola Morrison, 2014. "Building talented worker housing in Shenzhen, China, to sustain place competitiveness," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(8), pages 1539-1558, June.
    33. Tan Yigitcanlar & Koray Velibeyoglu, 2008. "Knowledge-Based Urban Development: The Local Economic Development Path of Brisbane, Australia," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 23(3), pages 195-207, August.
    34. Rui Baptista, 2003. "Productivity and the Density of Local Clusters," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Johannes Bröcker & Dirk Dohse & Rüdiger Soltwedel (ed.), Innovation Clusters and Interregional Competition, chapter 9, pages 163-181, Springer.
    35. Julie Brown, 2015. "Home from Home? Locational Choices of International "Creative Class" Workers," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(12), pages 2336-2355, December.
    36. Krugman, Paul, 1993. "On the number and location of cities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(2-3), pages 293-298, April.
    37. Anastasiia Konstantynova & Tine Lehmann, 2017. "Cluster Activities in Different Institutional Environments. Case Studies of ICT-Clusters from Austria, Germany, Ukraine and Serbia," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-15, May.
    38. Baptista, Rui & Swann, Peter, 1998. "Do firms in clusters innovate more?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 525-540, September.
    39. Leo van den Berg & Erik Braun & Willem van Winden, 2001. "Growth Clusters in European Cities: An Integral Approach," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(1), pages 185-205, January.
    40. Johannes Bröcker & Dirk Dohse & Rüdiger Soltwedel (ed.), 2003. "Innovation Clusters and Interregional Competition," Advances in Spatial Science, Springer, number 978-3-540-24760-9, Fall.
    41. Shane, Scott A., 1992. "Why do some societies invent more than others?," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 29-46, January.
    42. John B Parr, 2002. "Agglomeration Economies: Ambiguities and Confusions," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(4), pages 717-731, April.
    43. Karl Wennberg & Göran Lindqvist, 2010. "The effect of clusters on the survival and performance of new firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 221-241, April.
    44. Rotemberg, Julio J. & Saloner, Garth, 2000. "Competition and human capital accumulation: a theory of interregional specialization and trade," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 373-404, July.
    45. Stahl, Konrad, 1982. "Differentiated Products, Consumer Search, and Locational Oligopoly," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1-2), pages 97-113, September.
    46. Shima Hamidi & Ahoura Zandiatashbar, 2019. "Does urban form matter for innovation productivity? A national multi-level study of the association between neighbourhood innovation capacity and urban sprawl," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(8), pages 1576-1594, June.
    47. Elicia Maine & Daniel Shapiro & Aidan Vining, 2010. "The role of clustering in the growth of new technology-based firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 34(2), pages 127-146, February.
    48. Jose-Luis Hervas-Oliver & Francisca Sempere-Ripoll & Ronald Rojas Alvarado & Sofia Estelles-Miguel, 2018. "Agglomerations and firm performance: who benefits and how much?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(3), pages 338-349, March.
    49. Catherine Beaudry & G. Swann, 2009. "Firm growth in industrial clusters of the United Kingdom," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 409-424, April.
    50. Osei-Tutu, Paul & Pregernig, Michael & Pokorny, Benno, 2015. "Interactions between formal and informal institutions in community, private and state forest contexts in Ghana," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 26-35.
    51. Pe'er, Aviad & Keil, Thomas, 2013. "Are all startups affected similarly by clusters? Agglomeration, competition, firm heterogeneity, and survival," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 354-372.
    52. Alex Burfitt & Stewart Macneill, 2008. "The Challenges of Pursuing Cluster Policy in the Congested State," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 492-505, June.
    53. Karen R. Polenske, 2006. "Clustering in Space Versus Dispersing Over Space," Advances in Spatial Science, in: Börje Johansson & Charlie Karlsson & Roger Stough (ed.), The Emerging Digital Economy, chapter 3, pages 35-54, Springer.
    54. Bjørn Asheim & Høgni Kalsø Hansen, 2009. "Knowledge Bases, Talents, and Contexts: On the Usefulness of the Creative Class Approach in Sweden," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 85(4), pages 425-442, October.
    55. Stuart, Toby & Sorenson, Olav, 2003. "The geography of opportunity: spatial heterogeneity in founding rates and the performance of biotechnology firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 229-253, February.
    56. Kevin Credit, 2018. "Transit-oriented economic development: The impact of light rail on new business starts in the Phoenix, AZ Region, USA," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(13), pages 2838-2862, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sandulika Abesinghe & Nayomi Kankanamge & Tan Yigitcanlar & Surabhi Pancholi, 2023. "Image of a City through Big Data Analytics: Colombo from the Lens of Geo-Coded Social Media Data," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Liping Fu & Fan Wu & Shan Zhang, 2022. "Evolutionary Path and Innovative Development of Pharmaceutical Industrial Cluster—A Case Study of Shijiazhuang, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Niki Derlukiewicz & Anna Mempel-Śnieżyk & Dominika Mankowska & Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Stanisław Minta & Tomasz Pilawka, 2020. "How do Clusters Foster Sustainable Development? An Analysis of EU Policies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lee, Chang-Yang, 2018. "Geographical clustering and firm growth: Differential growth performance among clustered firms," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6), pages 1173-1184.
    2. Grashof, Nils, 2020. "Putting the watering can away Towards a targeted (problem-oriented) cluster policy framework," Papers in Innovation Studies 2020/4, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    3. Pe'er, Aviad & Keil, Thomas, 2013. "Are all startups affected similarly by clusters? Agglomeration, competition, firm heterogeneity, and survival," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 354-372.
    4. Grashof, Nils, 2021. "Putting the watering can away –Towards a targeted (problem-oriented) cluster policy framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    5. Hervas Oliver,Jose Luis & Gonzalez,Gregorio & Caja,Pedro, 2014. "Clusters and industrial districts: where is the literature going? Identifying emerging sub-fields of research," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201409, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV).
    6. Wang, Liang & Tan, Justin & Li, Wan, 2018. "The impacts of spatial positioning on regional new venture creation and firm mortality over the industry life cycle," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 41-52.
    7. Guo, Di & Jiang, Kun & Xu, Chenggang & Yang, Xiyi, 2023. "Geographic clusters, regional productivity and resource reallocation across firms: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(2).
    8. Dirk Crass & Christian Rammer & Birgit Aschhoff, 2019. "Geographical clustering and the effectiveness of public innovation programs," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 44(6), pages 1784-1815, December.
    9. Hervas-Oliver,Jose-Luis & Sempere-Ripoll,Francisca, 2014. "Agglomerations and firm performance: how does it work, who benefits and how much?," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201411, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV), revised 01 Dec 2014.
    10. Nils Grashof, 2020. "Sinking or swimming in the cluster labour pool? A firm-specific analysis of the effect of specialized labour," Jena Economics Research Papers 2020-006, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    11. Pindado, Emilio & Sánchez, Mercedes & García Martínez, Marian, 2023. "Entrepreneurial innovativeness: When too little or too much agglomeration hurts," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    12. Tine Lehmann & Maximilian Benner, 2015. "Cluster Policy in the Light of Institutional Context—A Comparative Study of Transition Countries," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-25, October.
    13. J Knoben & AT Arikan & F van Oort & O Raspe, 2016. "Agglomeration and firm performance: One firm’s medicine is another firm’s poison," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(1), pages 132-153, January.
    14. Brian T. McCann & Timothy B. Folta, 2009. "Demand‐ and Supply‐Side Agglomerations: Distinguishing between Fundamentally Different Manifestations of Geographic Concentration," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 362-392, May.
    15. McCann, Brian T. & Folta, Timothy B., 2011. "Performance differentials within geographic clusters," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 104-123, January.
    16. Libaers, Dirk & Meyer, Martin, 2011. "Highly innovative small technology firms, industrial clusters and firm internationalization," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1426-1437.
    17. Liang Wang & Justin Tan, 2019. "Social Structure of Regional Entrepreneurship: The Impacts of Collective Action of Incumbents on De Novo Entrants," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 43(5), pages 855-879, September.
    18. Mario Polèse & Richard Shearmur, 2006. "Growth and Location of Economic Activity: The Spatial Dynamics of Industries in Canada 1971–2001," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 362-395, September.
    19. Aviad Pe'er & Ilan Vertinsky & Thomas Keil, 2016. "Growth and survival: The moderating effects of local agglomeration and local market structure," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 541-564, March.
    20. Gilbert, Brett Anitra & McDougall, Patricia P. & Audretsch, David B., 2008. "Clusters, knowledge spillovers and new venture performance: An empirical examination," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 405-422, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3338-:d:240387. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.