INTRODUCTIONThe point of departure for this article is Martin and Sunley's (2003) criticism of the cluster concept, which they dismiss as an intellectual 'brand' rather than a concept proper. While, on the one hand, I am receptive to their criticisms, I fully recognize the generality of the notion, in addition to its implication as a managerial/policy-making 'fashion' (Abrahamson, 1996). I am unsympathetic, on the other, because their criticisms have somewhat overshadowed its value for studying organizations, work and employment in particular places.Clusters (just like traditional industrial districts) are economic and geographical 'sites' where the co-location of interconnected work organizations conditions 'the nature and basic structure' of work and employment opportunities, interactions and relations (Schatzki, 2005, p. 265). Furthermore -because the experience of working life is (at least) partly shaped by 'the context in which it transpires' (Schatzki, 2005, p. 267) -the actions of organizations and individuals in clusters are inseparable responses to it as an ongoing state of affairs, it is argued (Schatzki, 1991).A key methodological application of clusters, then, is that they allow researchers to address what is perhaps an essential question to do with the regional scale, namely: how is work experienced differently in various economic/industrial agglomerations? However, this has partly been addressed ABSTRACT the cluster concept has attracted numerous criticisms over the years. Yet, it arguably retains significant value as a lens for studying organizations, work and employment in particular places. conceptualizing regions, for example, as inter-organizational 'sites' allows for the experience of working life to be analyzed more fully in relation to labour's position within contextually based employment relationships. this article applies such a notion to evaluate the link between inter-organizational arrangements of power, local labour market dynamics, and work and employment relations in the thames Valley (uK) information and communication technologies (ict) cluster; on which basis it is concluded that the cluster facilitates a 'strategically rational' form of domination over workers.
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