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A Matter of Distrust: Explaining the Persistence of Dysfunctional Beliefs in Regional Clusters

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  • UDO STABER

Abstract

ABSTRACT Much theoretical writing on regional clusters is based on a functionalist and normative view of trust‐based social exchange underlying innovativeness and competitiveness. Empirical research, however, reports many cases of clusters that are best characterized as loosely connected agglomerations of firms, driven by intense distrust and rivalry, rather than trust and cooperation, and with outcomes that may or may not be advantageous. The aim of this paper is to offer a microlevel Darwinian explanation for the persistence of distrust in clusters. From the “meme's eye view,” a cluster may be understood as a cultural phenomenon that is created and reproduced by human agents as they selectively perceive and enact the ideas that draw their attention. The outcome is not necessarily a distribution of ideas that benefits the individual members of the cluster or enhances the performance of the cluster as a whole. This paper outlines the general evolutionary principles involved in this process and applies them in a discussion of some of the conditions under which ideas related to distrust may be selected and reproduced.

Suggested Citation

  • Udo Staber, 2007. "A Matter of Distrust: Explaining the Persistence of Dysfunctional Beliefs in Regional Clusters," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 341-363, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:38:y:2007:i:3:p:341-363
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2257.2007.00374.x
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    1. Crouch, Colin & Gales, Patrick Le & Trigilia, Carlo & Voelzkow, Helmut, 2001. "Local Production Systems in Europe: Rise or Demise?," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199242511.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ben Spigel, 2017. "Bourdieu, culture, and the economic geography of practice: entrepreneurial mentorship in Ottawa and Waterloo, Canada," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 287-310.
    2. Ben Spigel, 2017. "The Relational Organization of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(1), pages 49-72, January.
    3. Susanne Pankov & Vivek K. Velamuri & Dirk Schneckenberg, 2021. "Towards sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems: examining the effect of contextual factors on sustainable entrepreneurial activities in the sharing economy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1073-1095, February.
    4. Ana-Maria Grigore & Irina-Maria Dragan, 2020. "Towards Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in a Transitional Economy: An Analysis of Two Romanian City-Regions through the Lens of Entrepreneurs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-21, July.
    5. Udo Staber, 2010. "A Social-Evolutionary Perspective on Regional Clusters," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Udo Staber, 2008. "Network Evolution in Cultural Industries," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(5), pages 569-578.
    7. Martin Mathews & Peter Stokes, 2013. "The creation of trust: the interplay of rationality, institutions and exchange," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(9-10), pages 845-866, December.
    8. Grillitsch, Markus & Nilsson, Magnus, 2019. "The Role of Trust in Regional Development," Papers in Innovation Studies 2019/8, Lund University, CIRCLE - Centre for Innovation Research.
    9. Ron Boschma & Ron Martin, 2010. "The Aims and Scope of Evolutionary Economic Geography," Chapters, in: Ron Boschma & Ron Martin (ed.), The Handbook of Evolutionary Economic Geography, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.

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