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Knowledge integrators and the survival of manufacturing clusters

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  • Giulio Buciuni
  • Gary Pisano

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the greater prevalence of global supply chains has had contrasting effects on Western manufacturing clusters. While some of them dwindled, others proved resilient. Contributing to the recent literature on co-located clusters and clusters' linkages, we focus on the impact of lead firms’ strategies on the competitiveness of a pair of ‘twin’ clusters located in Northeast Italy. Our findings suggest that production remains ‘sticky’ when leading firms pursue ‘process-embedded’ innovation by integrating global market and local technical knowledge. We refer to this type of firm as a Knowledge Integrator and discuss how its strategy supports the competiveness of localized suppliers.

Suggested Citation

  • Giulio Buciuni & Gary Pisano, 2018. "Knowledge integrators and the survival of manufacturing clusters," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(5), pages 1069-1089.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jecgeo:v:18:y:2018:i:5:p:1069-1089.
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    3. Marco Bellandi, 2021. "Factors Supporting or Hindering the Place-based Structure of Commons in Local Productive Systems," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 8, pages 1-14.
    4. Xianzhong Cao & Bo Chen & Yi Guo & Zhenzhen Yi, 2023. "The Impact of Intra-City and Inter-City Innovation Networks on City Economic Growth: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Andrea Coveri & Antonello Zanfei, 2023. "The virtues and limits of specialization in global value chains: analysis and policy implications," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 50(1), pages 73-90, March.
    6. Roberto Ganau & Roberto Grandinetti, 2022. "La capacit? innovativa delle regioni: riflessioni sul nuovo "triangolo industriale"," ECONOMIA E SOCIET? REGIONALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 105-125.
    7. Harald Bathelt & John A Cantwell & Ram Mudambi, 2018. "Overcoming frictions in transnational knowledge flows: challenges of connecting, sense-making and integrating," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(5), pages 1001-1022.
    8. Giancarlo Cor? & Roberto Grandinetti, 2023. "I distretti industriali nelle trasformazioni dell?economia italiana: dalla crescita estensiva alle sfide della nuova globalizzazione," ECONOMIA E SOCIET? REGIONALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(2), pages 27-41.
    9. Celetti, D., 2020. "Small Businesses in the Global Market: Evidence from the Fashion System of Vicenza Province (Italy)," R-Economy, Ural Federal University, Graduate School of Economics and Management, vol. 6(2), pages 74-88.
    10. Evren Yiğit & Akdoğan-Odabaş Ezgi, 2024. "Towards a comprehensive agency-based resilience approach: Myopia and hypermetropia in the Turkish wine industry," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 68(2), pages 81-95.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Manufacturing clusters; globalization; firms strategy; innovation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R3 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location
    • L2 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior
    • L5 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy

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