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Abstract
Frenken K., Cefis E. and Stam E. Industrial dynamics and clusters: a survey, Regional Studies. This paper reviews the literature on clusters and their effects on the entry, exit and growth of firms as well on the evolutionary dynamics underlying the process of cluster formation. This extensive review shows that there is strong evidence that clusters promote entry, but little evidence that clusters enhance firm growth and firm survival. From a number of open questions various future research avenues are distilled that stress the importance of firm heterogeneity and the exact mechanisms underlying localization economies.
Frenken K., Cefis E. and Stam E. 工业动态与群聚：一份调查，区域研究。本文回顾群聚及其对于厂商进入、退出、成长之影响，以及支撑群聚形成过程之演化动态的文献。此一广泛的回顾，显示出群聚促进厂商进入的强力证据，但有关群聚能够促进厂商成长与生存的证据却相当薄弱。本研究从若干开放式问题，萃取出强调厂商异质性的重要性、以及支撑地方化经济之确切机制的各种未来研究路径。
Frenken K., Cefis E. et Stam E. La dynamique industrielle et les clusters: une enquête, Regional Studies. Cet article fait la critique de la documentation sur les clusters et leurs effets sur l'entrée, la sortie et la croissance des entreprises ainsi que sur la dynamique évolutionniste qui sous-tend le processus de création des clusters. Cette critique exhaustive montre que tout indique que les clusters encouragent l'entrée, mais il y a peu d'indications que les clusters augmentent la croissance et la survie des entreprises. À partir d'un nombre de questions ouvertes, on détermine diverses pistes de recherche futures qui soulignent l'importance de l'hétérogénéité des entreprises et les mécanismes précis qui sous-tendent les économies de localisation.
Frenken K., Cefis E. und Stam E. Branchendynamik und Cluster: eine Erhebung, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir die Literatur über Cluster und ihre Auswirkung auf die Gründung, die Schließung und das Wachstum von Firmen sowie über die evolutionäre Dynamik, die dem Prozess der Clusterbildung zugrunde liegt. Aus dieser ausführlichen Überprüfung geht hervor, dass zahlreiche Belege für eine Förderung von Firmengründungen, aber nur wenige Belege für eine Verbesserung des Wachstums und Überlebens von Firmen durch Cluster vorliegen. Anhand einer Reihe von offenen Fragen arbeiten wir verschiedene künftige Forschungsrichtungen heraus, bei denen die Wichtigkeit der Firmenheterogenität und die genauen Mechanismen von Lokalisierungsökonomien besonders betont werden.
Frenken K., Cefis E. y Stam E. Dinámicas y agrupaciones industriales: una encuesta, Regional Studies. En este artículo analizamos la bibliografía sobre las agrupaciones y sus efectos en la creación, el cierre y el crecimiento de las empresas, así como sobre las dinámicas evolutivas que subyacen al proceso de formación de agrupaciones. En este exhaustivo análisis se muestra que existen fuertes evidencias de que las agrupaciones fomentan la creación de empresas, pero no parece que aumente el crecimiento ni la supervivencia de las empresas. A partir de varias preguntas abiertas se desprenden posibles vías de investigación futuras en las que se resalta la importancia de la heterogeneidad empresarial y los mecanismos subyacentes exactos de las economías de localización.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Utrecht University (High Potential Grant - HIPO - to E. Cefis and K. Frenken); and by the University of Bergamo (grant ex. 60%, number 60CEFI14, Department of Management, Economics and Quantitative Methods, to E. Cefis).
Notes
1 This survey differs from related surveys such as those by Rosenthal and Strange (Citation2004), De Groot et al. (Citation2009), and Melo et al. (Citation2009) in that these surveys mainly focus on the effect of agglomeration economies on regional growth, while the present survey focuses on the relation between localization economies and industrial dynamics (firm entry, growth and exit).
2 The question whether firms in clusters are more innovate than firms outside clusters is not dealt with in this review. Defining industrial dynamics in the narrow, demographic sense, the choice has been to focus only on entry, growth and exit of firms. For studies on the relation between clustering and innovation, see Baptista and Swann (Citation1999), Beaudry and Breschi (Citation2003), and Folta et al. (Citation2006).
3 Importantly, not all studies in the organizational ecology tradition found that legitimation process are regionalized. Bigelow et al. (Citation1997) found that regional founding rates of automobile manufacturers were positively affected by national firm density only. Similarly, Lomi (Citation2000) found for Danish banks that, with the exception of those in the capital, founding rates were affected by national firm density. Indeed, for service industries like banking, this can be understood from the cross-regional transfer of knowledge in multi-locational firms.
4 Though locational origins of founders may lie at the root of high entry rates in clusters, localization economies may still play a role in entry decisions. It can be analysed whether firms prefer to locate within or outside clusters in their particular region of origin. In a study controlling for region of origin, Pe'er et al. (Citation2008) showed that most firms that enter are indeed drawn to clusters in their region of origin, suggesting that (perceived) localization economies played a role in location decisions. Localization economies may also play a role in foreign entry.
5 A related topic of research is whether firm growth is enhanced in regions with high knowledge intensity. Such an effect would be especially indicative of the knowledge spillovers as one of the mechanisms underlying agglomeration economies. Stough et al. (Citation1998) investigated the economic development of the greater Washington, DC, area in the United States and found that a high concentration of technically skilled workers is associated with higher levels of new firm growth. Raspe and van Oort (Citation2008) also found for all Dutch establishments that being located in a local innovative environment and an R&D-intensive environment is more conducive to firm growth than being located in a region that is less endowed with knowledge resources. This can be considered as indirect evidence of agglomeration economies in the firm of knowledge spillovers.
6 Industries are collections of producers active in the same product market. This might lead to confusion about the difference between the product life cycle and industry life cycle labels, but in this review the distinction between product life cycle and industry life cycle is based on the differences in the underlying literature, which focus on different mechanisms explaining industrial dynamics and the spatial distribution of industries.
7 A similar reasoning underpins international trade theory in which the location of an industry is expected to move from high- to low-wage economies over its product life cycle (Vernon, Citation1966). The product life cycle theory of industrial location does not necessarily imply the relocation of a firm: the movement from core to periphery could also be realized by opening branch plants in the periphery and reducing employment in the core region (a trend found by Dumais et al., Citation2002), or by subcontracting activities from the core to new or existing firms in the periphery.
8 Otherwise known as Marshall–Arrow–Romer (MAR) externalities.
9 In a recent paper, Berchicci et al. (Citation2011) showed for the disk drive industry that the location choice of spinoffs is not necessarily determined by the location of the parent, but also depends on the technological strategy of a firm.
10 However, in some industries clusters do not emerge despite the fact that spinoff firms were pervasive. Notably, only a low degree of spatial concentration has been observed in the US laser industry (Klepper and Sleeper, Citation2005) and German laser industry (Buenstorf and Geissler, Citation2011). This ‘anomaly’ can been attributed to the presence of many submarkets in the laser industry, which limited competition among these markets, leaving room for many firms to survive in niches for a prolonged period of time (Bhaskarabhatla and Klepper, Citation2008).
11 Apart from being a source of new entrants, the presence of related industries may also benefit the performance of already existing firms. Boschma and Wenting (Citation2007), for example, showed that firms in the British car industry experienced higher survival rates in regions with high levels of employment in related industries. Interestingly, this effect disappeared when the industry matured, possibly reflecting that the knowledge and competences in the car industry had become more specific over time.