Industrial Clusters' Competitive Advantage As Explained By Inter-firm Network Structure And Dynamic Capabilities

Since 1990s, as inter-firm networks and industrial clusters have developed rapidly in the world, more and more research pays attention to the related topics, which make cluster theory, strategic theory and social network theory intercrossing and integrating in this field. However, on the status quo, there are some main questions in the current studies: First, in the cluster study, the analysis of the network in clusters remains in a functional level, lacking of micro-based research; Second, in inter-firm networks research, the mechanism of networking organizations is not clear, facing "network paradox"; Third, the research network is often criticized for insufficient dynamic analysis. Based on static analysis, most of the studies lack dynamic evolution research.In response to these research problems, based on the reality of competition among clusters, this study put forward industrial clusters' competitive advantage and re-examine the logic of it. From the inter-firm network perspective, the study analyzes the relations among network structure, dynamic capabilities and clusters' competitive advantage, which provides a structuralist micro-base of cluster theory.In empirical analysis, using national tax database, the study analyses network structure of inter-firm network of clusters by UCINet, 1186 firms are included. And the research gained data from 2001 to 2004 in nine textile clusters in Zhejiang province. In the cluster level, the study analyses the statistical data, aggregated from13,752 firms by using SPSS, which tests the theoretical model.Through theoretical and empirical analysis, four main conclusions are found in the study:(1) The development of clusters' competitive advantage is a process based on the accumulation of inter-firm networks' dynamic capabilities. And the results show that RAC (Resource Acquisition Capabilities) of inter-firm network enhance the efficiency of clusters, and RCC (Resource Configuration Capabilities) and RIC (Resource Integration Capabilities) is in favor of clusters to improve effectiveness, which in a...