Clusters, connectivity and catch-up: Bollywood and Bangalore in the Global Economy
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a broader theory of cluster connectivity that has hitherto focused on organization-based pipelines and MNE subsidiaries, by including linkages in the form of personal relationships.
Abstract: In this article, we make two important contributions to the literature on clusters. First, we provide a broader theory of cluster connectivity that has hitherto focused on organization-based pipelines and MNE subsidiaries, by including linkages in the form of personal relationships. Second, we use the lens of social network theory to derive a number of testable propositions. We propose that global linkages with decentralized network structures have the highest potential for local spillovers. In the emerging economy context, our theory implies that clusters linked to the global economy by decentralized pipelines have potential for in-depth catch-up, focused in industry and technology scope. In contrast, clusters linked through decentralized personal relationships have potential for in-breadth catch-up over a range of related industries and technologies. We illustrate our theoretical propositions by contrasting two emerging economy case studies: Bollywood, the Indian filmed entertainment cluster in Mumbai and the Indian software cluster in Bangalore.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the role of regional cluster composition in the economic performance of industries, clusters and regions is evaluated. And the authors find that the presence of strong clusters in a region enhances growth opportunities in other industries and clusters.
380 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors reconceptualize the firm-level construct absorptive capacity as a learning dyad-level measure, relative absorptive capacities, and test the model using a sample of pharmaceutical-biotechnology R&D alliances.
Abstract: Much of the prior research on interorganizational learning has focused on the role of absorptive capacity, a firm's ability to value, assimilate, and utilize new external knowledge. However, this definition of the construct suggests that a firm has an equal capacity to learn from all other organizations. We reconceptualize the firm-level construct absorptive capacity as a learning dyad-level construct, relative absorptive capacity. One firm's ability to learn from another firm is argued to depend on the similarity of both firms' (1) knowledge bases, (2) organizational structures and compensation policies, and (3) dominant logics. We then test the model using a sample of pharmaceutical–biotechnology R&D alliances. As predicted, the similarity of the partners' basic knowledge, lower management formalization, research centralization, compensation practices, and research communities were positively related to interorganizational learning. The relative absorptive capacity measures are also shown to have greater explanatory power than the established measure of absorptive capacity, R&D spending. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
335 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the traditional assumption of the country as the location unit of analysis has serious weaknesses, stemming from its traditional assumption that the country is a location unit for analysis.
Abstract: Spurred by the classic work of Dunning, MNE location has become the focus of a growing body of research in the field. In this paper we argue that international business (IB) research examining the spatial dimension has serious weaknesses, stemming from its traditional assumption of the country as the location unit of analysis. While border-crossing remains the key research context of IB, placing it within a general spatial framework that recognizes both international and subnational spatial heterogeneity opens up vast new vistas for research. Analyzing MNEs as border-crossing multi-location enterprises allows the researcher to distinguish between (discrete) border effects and (continuous) distance effects and undertake a more fine-grained analysis of location. Within such analysis national borders may appear as qualitative discontinuities in space, that is, points at which spatial heterogeneity changes abruptly. However, subnational spatial heterogeneity is often the characteristic that drives firm strategy as MNEs decide to locate in particular agglomerations and not at random locations within a country. The complex firms that IB scholars study typically include multiple units within the same country, so that a complete analysis requires considering both subnational distance effects as well as international border effects.
309 citations
Cites background from "Clusters, connectivity and catch-up..."
...…& Singh, 2009), mature industries like autos (Kumaraswamy et al., 2012), creative Journal of International Business Studies industries like movies and information technology (Lorenzen & Mudambi, 2013) and high-technology industries like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology (Yeolekar & Mehta, 2007)....
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...At the micro level it implies that clustering and agglomeration effects, the thickness of local linkages and the nature of global linkages need to be taken into account (Goerzen, Asmussen, & Nielsen, 2013; Lorenzen & Mudambi, 2013)....
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TL;DR: In this article, a novel clustering algorithm was developed that systematically generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions (i.e., groups of closely related industries), and proposed a new set of benchmark cluster definitions that incorporates measures of inter-industry linkages based on co-location patterns, input-output links, and similarities in labor occupations.
Abstract: Clusters are geographic concentrations of industries related by knowledge, skills, inputs, demand and/or other linkages. There is an increasing need for cluster-based data to support research, facilitate comparisons of clusters across regions and support policymakers in defining regional strategies. This article develops a novel clustering algorithm that systematically generates and assesses sets of cluster definitions (i.e., groups of closely related industries). We implement the algorithm using 2009 data for U.S. industries (six-digit NAICS), and propose a new set of benchmark cluster definitions that incorporates measures of inter-industry linkages based on co-location patterns, input–output links, and similarities in labor occupations. We also illustrate the algorithm’s ability to compare alternative sets of cluster definitions by evaluating our new set against existing sets in the literature. We find that our proposed set outperforms other methods in capturing a wide range of inter-industry linkages, including the grouping of industries within the same three-digit NAICS.
280 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors combine the concept of location derived by economic geographers with theories of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and the liability of foreignness developed by international business scholars, to examine the factors that propel MNEs toward, or away from, "global cities".
Abstract: We combine the concept of location derived by economic geographers with theories of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and the liability of foreignness developed by international business scholars, to examine the factors that propel MNEs toward, or away from, “global cities”. We argue that three distinctive characteristics of global cities – global interconnectedness, cosmopolitanism, and abundance of advanced producer services – help MNEs overcome the costs of doing business abroad, and we identify the contingencies under which these characteristics combine with firm attributes to exert their strongest influence. Consistent with these arguments, our analysis of a large sample of MNE location decisions using a multilevel multinomial model suggests not only that MNEs have a strong propensity to locate within global cities, but also that these choices are associated with a nuanced interplay of firm- and subsidiary-level factors, including investment motives, proprietary capabilities, and business strategy. Our study provides important insights for international business scholars by shedding new light on MNE location choices and also contributes to our understanding of economic geography by examining the heterogeneous strategies and capabilities of MNEs – the primary agents of economic globalization – that shape the nature of global cities.
255 citations
Cites background from "Clusters, connectivity and catch-up..."
...In so doing, MNE subsidiaries generate substantial knowledge spillovers into the local economic environment through the absorption of MNE knowledge by local firms (Lorenzen & Mudambi, 2013)....
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...…– where and why firms place specific activities in particular areas – is a key area of interest in both international business research (e.g., Alcácer & Chung, 2007; Nachum & Wymbs, 2005; Porter, 2001) and economic geography research (e.g., Krugman, 1991; Lorenzen & Mudambi, 2013; Markusen, 1996)....
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...Journal of International Business Studies (2013) 44, 427–450. doi:10.1057/jibs.2013.11 Keywords: global cities; liability of foreignness; foreign direct investment; alliances and joint ventures; location strategy; internationalization INTRODUCTION The concept of location – where and why firms place specific activities in particular areas – is a key area of interest in both international business research (e.g., Alcácer & Chung, 2007; Nachum & Wymbs, 2005; Porter, 2001) and economic geography research (e.g., Krugman, 1991; Lorenzen & Mudambi, 2013; Markusen, 1996)....
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...Yet, as argued by previous authors, these large geographical units are often too coarse to provide an accurate picture of the role of MNEs in economic globalization, since the trends of outsourcing and new technologies, as well as economic policies of liberalization, have made nation-states less significant as units of analysis (Brown, Derudder, Parnreiter, Pelupessy, Taylor, & Witlox, 2010; Krugman, 1991)....
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...In global cities, however, local stakeholders tend to be more cosmopolitan, since they are likely to be more exposed to international stimuli – for example, through expatriate or diasporic personal relationships transcending geographic space (Lorenzen & Mudambi, 2013; Sassen, 2002)....
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References
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01 Feb 2009
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure, which is a process similar to hypothesis-testing research.
Abstract: Building Theories From Case Study Research - This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure. Some features of the process, such as problem definition and construct validation, are similar to hypothesis-testing research. Others, such as within-case analysis and replication logic, are unique to the inductive, case-oriented process. Overall, the process described here is highly iterative and tightly linked to data. This research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. The resultant theory is often novel, testable, and empirically valid. Finally, framebreaking insights, the tests of good theory (e.g., parsimony, logical coherence), and convincing grounding in the evidence are the key criteria for evaluating this type of research.
40,005 citations
TL;DR: Simple models of networks that can be tuned through this middle ground: regular networks ‘rewired’ to introduce increasing amounts of disorder are explored, finding that these systems can be highly clustered, like regular lattices, yet have small characteristic path lengths, like random graphs.
Abstract: Networks of coupled dynamical systems have been used to model biological oscillators, Josephson junction arrays, excitable media, neural networks, spatial games, genetic control networks and many other self-organizing systems. Ordinarily, the connection topology is assumed to be either completely regular or completely random. But many biological, technological and social networks lie somewhere between these two extremes. Here we explore simple models of networks that can be tuned through this middle ground: regular networks 'rewired' to introduce increasing amounts of disorder. We find that these systems can be highly clustered, like regular lattices, yet have small characteristic path lengths, like random graphs. We call them 'small-world' networks, by analogy with the small-world phenomenon (popularly known as six degrees of separation. The neural network of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, the power grid of the western United States, and the collaboration graph of film actors are shown to be small-world networks. Models of dynamical systems with small-world coupling display enhanced signal-propagation speed, computational power, and synchronizability. In particular, infectious diseases spread more easily in small-world networks than in regular lattices.
39,297 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that the degree of overlap of two individuals' friendship networks varies directly with the strength of their tie to one another, and the impact of this principle on diffusion of influence and information, mobility opportunity, and community organization is explored.
Abstract: Analysis of social networks is suggested as a tool for linking micro and macro levels of sociological theory. The procedure is illustrated by elaboration of the macro implications of one aspect of small-scale interaction: the strength of dyadic ties. It is argued that the degree of overlap of two individuals' friendship networks varies directly with the strength of their tie to one another. The impact of this principle on diffusion of influence and information, mobility opportunity, and community organization is explored. Stress is laid on the cohesive power of weak ties. Most network models deal, implicitly, with strong ties, thus confining their applicability to small, well-defined groups. Emphasis on weak ties lends itself to discussion of relations between groups and to analysis of segments of social structure not easily defined in terms of primary groups.
37,560 citations
TL;DR: A model based on these two ingredients reproduces the observed stationary scale-free distributions, which indicates that the development of large networks is governed by robust self-organizing phenomena that go beyond the particulars of the individual systems.
Abstract: Systems as diverse as genetic networks or the World Wide Web are best described as networks with complex topology. A common property of many large networks is that the vertex connectivities follow a scale-free power-law distribution. This feature was found to be a consequence of two generic mechanisms: (i) networks expand continuously by the addition of new vertices, and (ii) new vertices attach preferentially to sites that are already well connected. A model based on these two ingredients reproduces the observed stationary scale-free distributions, which indicates that the development of large networks is governed by robust self-organizing phenomena that go beyond the particulars of the individual systems.
33,771 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define a leadership event as a perceived segment of action whose meaning is created by the interactions of actors involved in producing it, and present a set of innovative methods for capturing and analyzing these contextually driven processes.
Abstract: �Traditional, hierarchical views of leadership are less and less useful given the complexities of our modern world. Leadership theory must transition to new perspectives that account for the complex adaptive needs of organizations. In this paper, we propose that leadership (as opposed to leaders) can be seen as a complex dynamic process that emerges in the interactive “spaces between” people and ideas. That is, leadership is a dynamic that transcends the capabilities of individuals alone; it is the product of interaction, tension, and exchange rules governing changes in perceptions and understanding. We label this a dynamic of adaptive leadership, and we show how this dynamic provides important insights about the nature of leadership and its outcomes in organizational fields. We define a leadership event as a perceived segment of action whose meaning is created by the interactions of actors involved in producing it, and we present a set of innovative methods for capturing and analyzing these contextually driven processes. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these ideas for organizational behavior and organization and management theory.
22,673 citations