Anmerkungen:
In: KIET Industrial Economic Review, Vol.24 No.3, 5-13
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments April 30, 2019 erstellt
Beschreibung:
A cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected companies and associated institutions in a particular field. It is widely accepted that clusters generate better economic performance than simple aggregations of companies, as mutual influence between clusted firms makes knowledge sharing and diffusion much easier. In this process, the novelty and diversity of accumulated knowledge is an important source of sustainable innovation and growth for the cluster. The more diversified the combined knowledge, the greater the scope and possibility of new knowledge creation.The heterogeneity of knowledge accumulated in a cluster changes with the life cycle of the cluster and contributes to the evolution of the cluster. In the stage of cluster formation, various combinations of knowledge are actively produced through the integration of companies and their interactions. This gives the cluster a competitive advantage to help firms cope with changes in the external environment and thus to grow further. As the cluster matures following the stage of formation, clusted firms come to resemble one another as their relationship lasts for a long time. In this process, clusters that have lost their competitive edge due to the technological lock-in suffer stagnate or decline. Successful clusters, on the other hand, adopt and recombine new knowledge and skills to adapt to changing environments and expand their dynamic growth path. This makes it possible for clusters create new paths for re-growth, not just follow a single path such as emergence-growth-decline.Even if heterogeneous new knowledge is accumulated, however, it will not lead to cluster growth unless shared and utilized properly. Previous studies emphasize the utilization of knowledge as the deterministic factor for cluster development, rather than knowledge heterogeneity itself. The ability to absorb, understand, and exploit knowledge affects the relationship between knowledge heterogeneity and cluster growth. From this point of view, knowledge networks play a pivotal role in cluster evolution by influencing the diffusion of newly introduced or created knowledge. A knowledge network represents social relationships in which knowledge is mutually exchanged. Successful networks have positive effects on cluster growth by improving accessibility to information, sharing outcomes, fostering mutual exchange and utilizing resources and technologies.This study focuses on the relationship between cluster growth, knowledge heterogeneity and knowledge networks. First, we measure the degree of knowledge heterogeneity for each regional cluster, and verify the relationship between cluster growth and heterogeneity through empirical analysis. Bg analysing this relationship for each life-cycle of a cluster, we place particular emphasis on understanding the development factor of the cluster. Second, we investigate the role of knowledge networks in cluster evolution by identifying the structural characteristics of networks. The structural characteristics cover the scope, strength, and closeness of the relationships among the network members as well as a quantitative scale. This approach will provide meaningful information in seeking cluster growth policies in terms of the formation and development of knowledge relations