Abstract
Conventional analyses of conventional industrial clusters look at the local, regional,Footnote1 national and global factors affecting their ability to compete and grow. However, it is beginning to become apparent that in at least a few cutting-edge, high-technology areas, firms compete directly on a global basis for talent and markets. A case study of the fuel cell cluster in Vancouver, Canada appears to confirm this proposition. Policy makers have realized that this cluster must compete on the world market if it is to succeed. The cluster is endowed with several favourable factors including a high quality of life for its human capital and strong support for demonstration projects.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the National Research Council of Canada for funding this project and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for funding the Innovation Systems Research Network, funding from which funded is the research work which supported this project.
Notes
‡The opinions expressed in this paper are purely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of their employers. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Hydrogen & Fuel Cells 2007 International Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
In this paper “regional” refers to a sub-national entity, such as a state, province, state or collectivity of a few provinces or states.