Cross-local knowledge fertilization, cluster emergence, and the generation of buzz

Recent work in economic geography has investigated how clusters evolve and change over time. Yet our understanding of such processes is still incomplete. Many accounts rest on a perspective that focuses on the development of solitary knowledge ecologies, while neglecting the fact that cluster formation may be triggered when different places are connected and begin to influence each other in mutual beneficial ways. This article argues that conceptualizations of cluster emergence need to understand the crucial ways in which this process is from the very beginning associated with external linkages and trans-local pipelines. A model of cluster formation is presented that suggests how buzz generation is driven by the connections between different localities in four stages: (i) pioneering, (ii) expansion, (iii) off-shoot, and (iv) fusion. We use the case of the global diamond industry, in both inductive and deductive ways, as an example to show that transnational communities and tight networks play a crucial role in forming cross-local connections that can trigger cluster emergence.