Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
the i rms in the cluster develop new applications of the initial technologies and seek out
new customers. Location-specii c externalities might become important as the number of
i rms in the cluster increases, but not in the early growth phase.
3. Methodology
The case study presented below has been developed using detailed information about the
founding events and organisational backgrounds of each individual entrant in the cluster
until 2003. The collection of this information has involved extensive work to trace the
founders of every i rm. First, we need to identify all i rms that at any point in time have
existed in the region. We have identii ed the name of the i rm, the year it was founded,
and the year that it closed, if this has been the case. The second step is to identify the
founders and where they worked previously. The data are presented in a table in Dahl
et al. (2003) with the names of all companies, year of entry, year of exit (if any), name of
founders, their organisational background, and main events in the history of the i rms,
such as acquisition and bankruptcies. Dahl et al. (2003) also presents a more detailed
description of the history of the cluster.
The information was collected from existing historical studies (Dalum, 1995; Gelsing
and Brændgaard, 1988), the cluster's own organisation, NorCOM, founded in 1997,
newspaper articles, information from the Internet, and a number of interviews and
casual conversations with key actors.
1
An earlier version of this chapter was presented
at a NorCOM Association meeting, where many key actors were present. Many of these
have been employed at the early i rms and have experienced the growth of the cluster.
The comments from key industry and university participants at this meeting have been
a valuable source. All information has been double-checked to make sure that the infor-
mation is accurate using multiple dif erent sources.
4. The emergence of a wireless communications cluster
The case to be studied in detail is the emergence of a cluster of high-technology-based
i rms in the i eld of wireless communications (NorCOM) in the region of North Jutland.
Dei ned narrowly, it consists of around 50 i rms.
Simon Petersen founded S.P. Radio in 1948 as a radio and later TV manufacturer in
Aalborg. This industry faced increasing competitive pressure in the early 1960s, which
fuelled a shakeout. Meanwhile, Simon Petersen had noticed opportunities in the market
for maritime radio communications equipment for small vessels. Consequently, S.P.
Radio managed to diversify into maritime communications from the mid-1960s and
became one of three world leaders within half a decade up to the early 1970s. In 1966, the
company had reached 150 employees.
In 1973, the i rst spinof i rm, Dancom, was founded by three engineers from S.P.
Radio. One of them had been the head of R&D at S.P. Radio for four years. Dancom was
active in the same markets as S.P. Radio, producing maritime communications equip-
ment. Two former Dancom engineers founded the second spinof , Shipmate, in 1977.
Their i rst product was a radio phone for maritime use, which competed directly with
both Dancom and S.P. Radio. Their breakthrough came in 1980, after they developed a
satellite navigation system (application diversii cation). At that time, the i rm only had
one employee besides the two founders. Shipmate successfully developed and produced
radiophones and navigation equipment for maritime use. Five years later, the i rm had
