Introduction. Unfolding cluster and industrial district evolution: into the future

This book focuses on some important themes of C/ID (clusters and industrial districts) evolution which are grouped in three sections: a) the role played by MNEs in the interaction with local firms, b) the triggering factors explaining both evolution and C/ID life-cycle, and c) the evolution of capabilities in clustered firms. The first sections starts with ch.1 which explore the common roots of the literature studying the MNEs phenomenon, throughout the bibliometric analysis, in the intersection between international business (IB) and economic geography/regional science (EG). Because IB typically refers to localization as the national level, dismissing the local dimension, we need a new theoretical approach for better evaluating the influence of agglomerations in local space, but also considering the globalisation process. The remaining chapters of this section are mainly empirical. Ch.2 tries to measure the importance of C/ID efficiency among firms in the financial district of London. Positive externalities (knowledge sharing, and close contacts with local specialised suppliers) are showed to be even related to social interactions, more important than negative ones (like congestion costs). Interesting, despite ICT has moved financial transactions on the web, the advocated “dead of distance” did not occurred, and the co-location in the City of London of financial services is still a major observable trend. Ch. 3 discusses the positive and negative aspect of the foreign entry of MNCs in a cluster. Clearly the entry of MNCs with a competence-creating mandate brings resources, new knowledge, and external networks to the cluster. It also helps to legitimize the cluster, strengthening its identity. In contrast, MNC subsidiaries with a competence-exploiting mandate might reduce local interactions, limiting firms technological search and possibilities to react to disruptive technologies, restricting the adaptability of the cluster. In order to show this ch.3 presents the important example of the Wireless Communications Cluster in North Jutland (Denmark). Ch. 4 contributes to the current understanding of the interwoven evolution of C/IDs and MNEs, presenting the case of the marble-cluster of Macael in Spain, characterised by the emergence of the “homegrown MNE”, Cosentino. A very similar theoretical perspective is adopted in ch. 5, where the authors describe the long term evolution of the tannery C/ID of Arzignano in Italy. Despite the external 2008 economic shock, Arzignano reconvert its past manufacturing capabilities throughout the emergence of a small group of very innovative “homegrown MNES” (Mastrotto group, Dani, and Rino Mastrotto). In ch.6 another important phenomenon is illustrated: the entry of foreign firms in the historical old ID of Prato, where Chinese firms have now substituted the old declining textile district. Ch. 7 deals with the evolution of the Toy Valley cluster in Alicante, in Spain, analyzing the continuous transformation of the local C/ID through the entry of foreign MNEs. A process of smart specialization is presented, showing the openness and insertion in global value chains across the cluster evolution. Ch.8 studies the entry of foreign MNEs in a typical textile Italian district, Val Vibrata, where national clients have been substituted by large foreign MNEs. The second section starts with Ch. 9. It describes the emergence and evolution of six industrial clusters of the Basque Country, in Spain, in the 19th and 20th centuries. C/ID development stage appears mainly driven by local entrepreneurship and firms’ strategic capabilities, while C/ID development was found more related to an increasing demand, either local and/or international; and to the inflow of external knowledge and the copying of foreign technologies. Ch. 10 compares the triggering factors of two advanced C/ID: the New Media cluster in Vienna and the Environmental Technology cluster based in Upper Austria. Overall, the authors reject the Porterian view, that cluster competitiveness and growth is mainly based on local and regional factors, because national and international factors may appear of overwhelming importance, although the regional setting indeed matters more in the early stages. A similar analysis, stressing the importance of external factors in C/ID dynamics, is presented in ch. 11, where a fishing cluster is studied: the Galician turbot cluster of Spain. Ch. 12 reflects on cluster decline and political lock-in. Analytically it tries to answer to the question to what extent do the characteristics of an industry affect the strength of political lock-in investigating if political lock-ins are stronger or not in clusters with high stocks of social capital and trust. Ch 13 studies the case of educational and entertainment software cluster in the Porto City Region, in the northwest of Portugal. The third section applies the approach of dynamic capability to cluster studies. Ch. 14, using this meso-level approach shows the integrate co-development of firms and cluster capability using as an illustrative example the Castellon cluster in Spain. The analysis of the development of the footwear industrial districts in Spain is the focus of Ch.15. The empirical study was carried out using a cohort of 165 companies located in different Spanish C/ID. The study, combining various factors, identifies a typology of five specific organizational configurations. The accumulation of technological capabilities among local producers in Brazilian tiles clusters in Santa Catarina and San Paulo is described in ch. 16. This accumulation was mainly driven by three key actors, two were external (Italian machinery suppliers and Spanish suppliers of glaze materials), and one was internal: the Center of Technological Innovation in Ceramics (Citec/CCB). This catalyzed an important process of interactive learning between Italian machinery suppliers, Spanish glaze chemical producers, local researchers, and Brazilian C/ID firms. The last chapter, ch. 17, is a review article which discusses the various theories of C/ID change. The literature on industrial districts, innovative milieus and regional innovation systems is analyse and confronted with the heterogeneity of C/ID new path creation or path modification.