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Abstract
This paper is concerned with contrasting the impact of globalization pressures on industrial development in particular localities, with specific reference to the relative performance of regional clusters. A multiple case study approach is adopted in order to examine the decline of volume yacht manufacturing in a long-established English cluster and to compare its responses to globalization with those of major competitors located in other parts of Europe. The case study opens with an analysis of three sector-specific drivers of globalization that have exercised a decisive impact on the sector over the last three decades. In the main analytical section, two alternative approaches to the analysis of clusters (Porter Citation1990, Citation2000, Best Citation2001) are applied to the empirical material. The application of Porter's ‘diamond’ framework suggests some distinctive performance-related characteristics, while Best's ‘cluster dynamics’ model provides a more sophisticated explanation of the differential responses and outcomes identified in the English case. The implications for policy are that cluster-level outcomes may be predicated on the internal dynamics of their respective ‘entrepreneurial firms’, and that regional development initiatives would benefit from conceptual and empirical studies that can better address the historical and spatial complexity of the underlying processes.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. We are also grateful to the yacht manufacturers, owners and others who participated in the interviews or provided other information, and to Professor Michael Best for the opportunity to discuss aspects of his cluster dynamics model at some length. Thanks also to participants at the Conference on Clusters, Industrial Districts and Firms: the Challenge of Globalization (Modena, Italy, 12–13 September 2003), and to the conference organizers, for providing feedback on an early draft of this paper.
Notes
Notes
1. In an earlier version, the reference to competition and collaboration is replaced by the phrase ‘linked by commonalities and complementarities’ (Porter Citation1998: 199).
2. See, for example, Clark (2000), Simmie (Citation2002) and Martin and Sunley (Citation2003); the related literature on inter-organizational networks has generated a similar set of critiques (Oliver and Ebers Citation1998: 549).
3. Cruising yachts are still used for racing, but the distinction between cruisers and racing yachts has widened since the 1970s, with the revival of large and increasingly specialized ‘pure’ ocean racing yachts, designed purely for performance (cf. Phillips-Birt Citation1974: 245–246, Giorgietti 2000: 186–190).
4. The case study concentrates on developments in four contrasting yacht manufacturing centres in Europe. As we have noted in the concluding remarks, the analysis could also be applied to activities located in other regions, including a dynamic cluster on Italy's Adriatic coast and an emerging centre of design expertise in Slovenia.
5. For example, Hanse has employed Rolf Vrolijk, a Dutch designer of America's Cup yachts. The company also has also introduced new construction technologies and materials that draw on Michael Schmidt's experience of ocean racing (Hanse Citation2004).
6. The company produced approximately 800 Contessa 32s, and several other designs. After ceasing production in the early 1980s, Jeremy Rogers established an industrial moulding business in the local area, while continuing to undertake some boatbuilding. In 1995, he was able to buy back the original Contessa 32 moulds; his company now produces limited numbers of what are now highly-regarded ‘classic’ yachts from its Lymington boatyard, along with some related products.
7. One notable exception has been the result of foreign direct investment (FDI) by a leading US volume manufacturer, a direct response to the success of other European clusters. In 2001, Luhrs Marine, established a manufacturing and distribution centre at Portland, on the western fringes of the cluster. Luhrs Marine is now the only yacht manufacturer in England that is fully engaged in the volume market for cruising yachts.
8. For example, the University of Southampton's Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics, which is at the heart of the cluster, provides towing, tank, wind tunnel and analysis services to the designers of small ships and yachts, including America's Cup contenders and larger cruising yachts.
9. The survival of Moody International can, in part, be attributed to an earlier decision to outsource manufacturing, providing the firm with access to the more dynamic technological capabilities of a large powerboat manufacturer. This contrasts with Westerly, where manufacturing remained in-house.
10. Wood has been largely displaced as a building material by reinforced plastics (Spurr Citation2000). However, it remains a feature in most cruising yachts, notably in the interior. In entry-level and middle-market yachts, this is likely to comprise little more than a cosmetic ‘trim’. The most elaborate, wood-lined interiors are only to be found in the premium ‘blue water’ yacht market (Hallberg-Rassy Citation2003).
11. However, several successful international component firms have developed in the English cluster. For example, Lewmar plc, a family-owned business founded in the cluster in 1946, has grown from an initial product base in dinghy fittings to become one of the world's leading marine equipment manufacturers.
12. These neo-Penrosian sources form part of a much broader literature on localized learning (Capello Citation1999, Keeble et al. Citation1999, Maskell and Malmberg Citation1999).
13. Best's model is open to the criticism that it offers a somewhat limited treatment of the ‘demand’ side of the TC/MO dynamic. Professor Best has acknowledged that this as a potential limitation that, in common with other capabilities-based theorizing, might result in an over-emphasis on internal factors (Best Citation2005).
14. The light-hearted term, ‘men in red trousers’ was applied to a particular type of English yachtsman, who played an influential role in the yachting community in the period covered by the case study. Their traditionalist approach to yachting was signalled by the choice of clothing (i.e. red canvas trousers) and by strongly-held and well-articulated views on the need for ‘seaworthy’ yacht designs.