Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
cations industry in San Diego, the automobile industry in Detroit and the tyre industry in
Akron illustrates the importance of the spinof process in the early growth phase of clus-
ters. The very detailed studies of the organisational background of entrants highlight the
mix of a successful i rm spawning successful spinof s that stay in the region and are able
to exploit new market opportunities. The role of geography is limited in the early phase
and several regions might have had similar initial conditions. Likewise there do not seem
to have been any given advantages in the regions; for example Detroit had historically
been known for its production of l our and copper mines (Jacobs, 1969), North Jutland
was dominated by agriculture, i shing, ship building, tobacco, textiles and construction
materials, and military aerospace was San Diego's major manufacturing industry from
the 1930s through the 1980s (Simard and West, 2003). New market opportunities seem to
be important in relation to the growth of clusters. The opportunities and market growth
of mobile communications supported the emergence of the wireless communications
clusters in North Jutland and San Diego.
7. Conclusion
The dominant theories on industrial clusters focus more on explaining ex post dynamics
of clusters than the emergence of clusters. As a result many case studies often contain
unique and colourful explanations as to why a particular industry became clustered in a
particular location. One of the risks in these studies is that the intriguing chain of events
that eventually lead to clusters clouds more general processes. Consequently, geography
appears to be a very important factor in the emergence of clusters, because of the founder
of the i rst i rm's decision to locate in a particular region. In addition i rms are shaping
the regional environment through their demand for labour and knowledge and they are
also af ected by the existing structure of the region. However, we argue that the role of
geography in the emergence of clusters is mainly limited to the geographical dimension
of entrepreneurial activity, that is, entrepreneurs tend to found their i rm where they live.
The founding of the i rst i rm can be characterised as a chance event, but a successful i rm
becomes a training ground for spinof s that are able exploit new market opportunities.
In the case of wireless communications in North Jutland, the success of S.P. Radio
helped the spinof s to gain routines to become successful themselves. The entry of these
i rms was a key process when the cluster grew from one i rm to many. Spinof s remained
the dominating share of i rms from the mid-1970s and onwards, but were particularly
important in the early growth phase when there were no apparent location-specii c
advantages. The move into the emerging market for mobile phones in the early 1980s
was important for further growth. The new market opportunities in the i rst and second
generation of mobile phones and growth in demand sustained the employment growth
in Dancall and Cetelco, and paved the way for additional spinof s. This demand was not
local, but initially Danish. During the 1980s the NMT standard was introduced in many
European and Middle East countries in various versions and the cluster i rms exported
to these countries. The worldwide increase in demand for mobile phones also helped the
emergence of the wireless communications cluster in San Diego. Spinof s from the early
i rms, Linkabit, Qualcomm, PCSI, benei ted from the market conditions and their inher-
ited competences. Likewise, the clusters in Silicon Valley, Detroit and Akron emerged
over the industry life cycle. Thus, the new market opportunities and increased demand
facilitated their emergence. However, the process of clustering was not deterministic and
