International Studies Compendium Project

Extract

Comment on this article   Clustering describes a phenomenon in which objects are not randomly distributed, but are spatially ordered: that is, organized into geographically proximate groups. According to Michael Porter (1998:197–8): “Clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions […] in particular fields that compete but also cooperate.” Industrial clusters have been known to exist from the beginnings of industrialization. Think of the cotton mills of Lancashire and automobile manufacturing in Detroit; the textile mills of Ahmadabad and Mumbai; the tanneries of Calcutta and Arcot; the computer and computer peripherals manufacturing units of Shenzhen. It is just as common to observe clustering processes in the service sector as in manufacturing. The financial services centers in London (in the City and Canary Wharf) and lower Manhattan in New York are well known examples. The concentrations of information technology firms in Silicon Valley (south of San Francisco), Route 128 near Boston, and Bangalore in India are just as famous. Even casual observers cannot fail to have noticed automobile malls and jewelry rows and gold souks in various parts of the world. It is possible to think of clustering in limited terms, as relevant only to manufacturing industry, for ... log in or subscribe to read full text