Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
could have been stopped at various stages, when technologies changed, new products
failed, competition increased or the market changed. In the case of North Jutland, two of
the seedbeds for many spinof s, Dancall and Cetelco, experienced severe i nancial prob-
lems on several occasions and were taken over by foreign i rms. If these had been closed
down at an early stage it might had hampered the emerging cluster.
Local conditions do not appear to have been important in the emerging phase of the
cluster in North Jutland. Later on, in the 1980s and 1990s, other factors supported the
growth of the cluster, such as the university through its growing supply of qualii ed
labour and basic research in wireless technologies. Thus, the role of geography changed
after the clusters emerged. Studies of knowledge dif usion between engineers across i rm
boundaries in the cluster in 2001 reveal that they shared knowledge (Dahl and Pedersen,
2004), but these spillovers could not take place without several i rms that emerged via
the spinof process.
The main i nding in this chapter is that spinof s have been a central mechanism in the
early growth phase of the wireless communications cluster in North Jutland. This result
is supplemented by the i ndings in semiconductors in Silicon Valley, wireless communi-
cations in San Diego, automobiles in Detroit, and tyres in Akron. Without the spinof
process, the NorCOM cluster would never have become a cluster, but only a single i rm
like B&O in Struer. This explanation for the emergence of clusters removes some of the
uniqueness and historical and cultural specii city of clusters. Spinof s are a key determi-
nant when a cluster grows from a single i rm to many i rms. However, there are several
unanswered questions concerning the spinof process and the process of founding a i rm.
Why do spinof s occur in some places and not in others? What triggers the separation
process? What type of positions and functions do future founders have in the parent
i rm? Which types of routine are inherited? What is the link between the industry life
cycle and spinof process? Answers to these questions can give us much better knowl-
edge about the process of spinning of and the emergence of clusters. Future studies of
the emergence of clusters need to dig deep and study the organisational background of
founders, the evolution of the industry and market opportunities.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for comments received from Ron Boschma, Magnus Holmen,
Steven Klepper, Olav Sorenson, Niels-Christian Gjerrild, Jens Hansen, Henrik Langkilde
and Erik Rauf .
Notes
1. Such as Erik Rauf (co-founder of Shipmate, former employee of S.P. Radio and Dancom/Dancall),
Henrik Langkilde (CEO of Dancall in the 1980s), Niels-Christian Gjerrild (co-founder of T-Com, CEO of
Dansk DECT/Ericsson, former employee of Dancom/Dancall), Jens Hansen (co-founder of RTX, former
employee of Dancom/Dancall and Cortech) and many others, who have been employed at the early i rms
and/or been part of founding teams.
2. Fairchild Semiconductor was a spinof from Shockley Transistor. The latter was founded in 1955
by the co-inventor of the transistor, William Shockley, who previously worked for Bell Telephone
Laboratories.
References
Agarwal, R., R. Echambadi, A.M. Franco and M.B. Sarkar (2004), 'Knowledge transfer through inheritance:
spin-out generation, development and survival',
Academy of Management Journal
,
47
(4), 501-22.
