Discovering the genesis and role of an intermediate organization in an industrial cluster: focusing on CONNECT of San Diego

Abstract

While the significant role of networking organizations in building industrial clusters is well recognized, the literature has not sufficiently accounted for the development, functions and success factors of intermediate organizations. The case study employed in this paper highlights the historical development and role of a networking organization, CONNECT, of the San Diego region, which is now recognized as one of the most successful platforms fostering collaboration and interaction. The functions of CONNECT, as an intermediate organization, in building an industrial cluster include its role in convening the entire community to help novice entrepreneurs. CONNECT has evolved to be a successful organization because it went through community-wide discussions, focused on bridging separated sectors, and was managed by dedicated leadership. The policy implication for creating an effective intermediate organization is to motivate regions to collaborate in finding tailored programs through a bottom-up process.

Keywords:

• intermediate organization
• CONNECT
• regional economic development
• networking organization

Acknowledgements

This study was developed and expanded from Sang-Tae Kim’s doctoral dissertation, titled An emergence of a biotechnology cluster: Knowledge, practice and culture of the San Diego biotechnology community. We appreciate the anonymous referees’ comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. There is no formally recognized term for it in the literature. It is referred to as ‘network organization’ by Asheim and Isaken (2002) and ‘brokering organization’ by Kee (2004). In this paper, the authors employ the terms ‘intermediate organization’ and ‘network organization’ interchangeably.

2. SPC was a joint venture of 13 aerospace companies to boost computer technologies by combining their capacity and resources.

3. Before joining CONNECT in 1986, William Otterson was already recognized as a successful entrepreneur: he turned around the almost bankrupt company Cipher Data Products, a maker of magnetic tape peripherals for computers, while serving as the CEO, and took it public in 1981. Later, he led Lexocorp, a word processor manufacturing company. He also served as a board of directors member at several companies. He served as the director of CONNECT until he died of cancer in 1999.