Inter-firm Cooperation and Firm Performance: An Empirical Study of the Lao Garment Industry Cluster

Abstract

Inter-firm cooperation is one important instrument for the way of industrial cluster development in developing countries. We utilize the case of Lao garment industry in Vientiane Capital City to examine the relationship between types of cooperation and firm performance. In order to prove our hypotheses, factor analysis and multiple regression analysis methods were used for the information obtained from field survey. The results of the study suggest that cooperation with subcontractors, business associations and distant buyers influence firm performance. On the contrary, cooperation among garment firms and distant suppliers seems to be less effective in this study.