Toward An Evolutionary Pocess Theory Of Industrial Cluster:A Knowledge-based View

With the rapid economic development since the reform and opening-up policy,China has become the world's second largest economy.Industrial clusters formed in the rural areas along the southeast coast of China play an important role in promoting the economic growth.In the era of knowledge economy,knowledge creation has substituted for the local geographic resources,becoming the most important source of cluster competitive advantages.Therefore,how to guide clusters to upgrade from the resource-driven into knowledge-driven type is crucial for China's economic take-off today.It requires scholars to change the traditional economic perspectives of cluster into the knowledge-based view to develop a deep understanding of the knowledge creation and knowledge utilization dynamic underlying cluster evolution mechanism.However,existing literatures on the knowledge-based view of cluster always overlook the dynamic evolution mechanism,and thus unable to explain the complex stepwise growth trajectories of clusters.Therefore,from the knowledge perspective,this study develops a dynamic process model of cluster evolution.The major findings of existing literature are presented as follows.Firstly,although studies on knowledge-based view of cluster emerge in recent years,a dynamic view of cluster evolution mechanism is still missing,thus the complex dynamics behind the clusters growth failed to be fully delineated.Moreover,the related theoretical arguments always over-emphasize the isomorphic effect of cluster in organizational field,thereby incapable of giving satisfactory explanation to the cluster evolution.Secondly,combining institutional theory and organizational learning theory into a holistic framework,this thesis could contribute to previous literatures by developing a new process model of cluster evolution.Thirdly,since the evolution of cluster is embedded in and shaped by its external context,it is essential to examine the dynamic of cluster evolution in the context of China's economic transition and bring market-transition related literature to our analysis framework.The aim of this thesis is to propose a new theory on cluster evolution mechanism from knowledge-based view by integrating institutional theory and organizational learning theory into a holistic framework,rather than testing existing arguments.The author adopts an in-depth qualitative case study design in the empirical section.The sample is a typical township cluster of manufacturing industry in Jiangsu province,which has more than 40 years' history of development.Relying on the grounded theory methodology,the data collection and analysis started from October 2012 to the end of 2013.The author and his supervisor,as well as several domestic and foreign scholars discuss the data jointly to describe and explain the trajectory of the selected case.On basis of above processes,the author develops a dynamic process model of cluster evolution mechanism based on knowledge-based view as our conclusion.The results show that,firstly,three dynamic phases constitute the whole evolution process of the cluster:the mutual reinforcing of institutional isomorphism and cluster exploitation phase,the institutional contradiction phase and the mutual reinforcing of institutional entrepreneurship and cluster exploration phase.Secondly,during the first phase,institutional factors cause an isomorphic effect within the cluster as a whole organizational field.Organizations mimic each other intensively in order to obtain legitimacy,which also indicating their local search orientation and their tendency to exploit the existing knowledge of cluster.This behavioral orientation leads to a sharp increase of cluster performance.However,the overall knowledge of cluster experiences a diminishing marginal increase until it stops,result in the learning myopia effect of the cluster.Thirdly,during the institutional contradiction stage,as the overall knowledge of cluster exhausts,the decrease in productivity forces actors reflective shift in consciousness,which is the key transition into the next phase.By breaking the existing institutional framework,institutional entrepreneurs within the cluster inspire to explore new knowledge beyond existing knowledge stock of the cluster.The overall knowledge of clusters shows marginal incremental increase again.The increased efficiency brings legitimacy to the institutional entrepreneurial behaviors.Keeping this mutual reinforcing behavioral orientation,the cluster institutional entrepreneurship process will evolve into the isomorphism process and the cluster exploration will evolve into the exploitation again.The overall knowledge of cluster will start with the inflection point of diminishing marginal type over time,which is the beginning of the next three-phase cycle.To sum up,this study considers the cluster evolution mechanism as a dynamic cycle process driven by the mutually reinforcements of institutional change(institutional isomorphism vs.institutional entrepreneurship)and learning behaviors(cluster exploitation vs.cluster exploration).Transitions between different phases within the process and the ability to overcome institutional contradictions are the key factors for clusters to sustain long-term competitive advantages.There are three main contributions of this study.Firstly,the process model proposed in this study contributes the knowledge-based view of industrial cluster literatures by unfolding the underling mechanisms of cluster evolution.This work introduces the institutional entrepreneurship literatures and the twin-concepts of exploration and exploitation systematically into the research of industrial cluster.It not only provides empirical evidence but also explains the dynamic cycle characteristics of cluster evolution mechanisms.By doing so,we have a useful tool to predict and manage the complex development tracks of industrial clusters.Secondly,by combining institutional theory and organizational learning theory together,this research explains the internal logics between institutional change and organizational learning behaviors,which shed light on the two theories and respond to the recent call from organizational theorists.Finally,the framework proposed in this thesis contributes to a deep understanding of the evolution of industrial clusters in the Chinese context,and provides a theoretical basis for local governments' policies and cluster firms' strategic changes.In the end,the author also discusses the directions for future research.