Michael Porter's Cluster Theory as a local and regional development tool – the rise and fall of cluster policy in the UK

Swords, Jon (2013) Michael Porter's Cluster Theory as a local and regional development tool – the rise and fall of cluster policy in the UK. Local Economy, 28 (4). pp. 367-381. ISSN 0269-0942

[img] Microsoft Word (pre-revisions version)
local_econ_submission.doc
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (560kB) | Request a copy
[img]
Preview
PDF (Pre-print)
local_econ_submission.pdf - Submitted Version

Download (331kB) | Preview
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0269094213475855

Abstract

There has been much written on industrial agglomeration, but it is Michael Porter’s cluster theory, above all others, which has come to dominate local and regional economic development policy. His work has been adopted by the OECD, EU, national and local governments the world over. He and his consultancy group have led reviews of national economic growth strategies in dozens of countries. This rise to prominence, however, is in the face of widespread critique from academics. Cluster theory’s theoretical foundations, its methodological approach and practical implementation have all been unpicked, leading some to label little more than a successful brand riding the wave of new regionalist fashions. Despite libraries of incredibly useful books and articles on clusters, there remains an absence of work which interrogates the translation of clusters into, and then through local and national policy. The aim of this article is to go some way to remedying the situation by examining the influence of Porter’s cluster theory charted through an examin- ation of UK regional development policy in the 1990s and 2000s. To help map the journey of clusters into and through UK economic development policy actor-network theory is adopted as an explanatory framework.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: clusters, Michael Porter, policy, UK
Subjects: L700 Human and Social Geography
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Depositing User: Jon Swords
Date Deposited: 26 Feb 2013 09:49
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2023 14:05
URI: https://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/11207

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics