Technology clusters versus industry clusters: Resources, networks, and regional advantages

Abstract

The tendency of firms to cluster within a region has been observed for quite some time. However, it is only over the past two decades that business researchers have focused much attention on clusters, particularly in terms of their entrepreneurial and innovative characteristics and potential. At the same time, regional developers around the world have put much effort in promoting the formation of clusters. A gap in such efforts is an understanding of the differences among types of clusters. This article draws a distinction between two generic types of clusters: technology-based and industry-focused. Using the resource-based view as the organizing framework, we argue that the two generic cluster types create very different regional resource profiles over time, accumulating resources in a different manner, cultivating different capabilities, and deriving different sources of regional advantage. As concluded in the study, these differences are likely to have implications for firms located in the regions as well as for economic developers and public policy officials charged with developing cluster strategies. © 2006 Blackwell Publishing.