Beyond the cluster: A case study of pipelines and buzz in the glocal relational space of the glove‐related industry of Shikoku, Japan

Abstract

Unlike a limited number of success stories of industrial clusters such as SiliconValley and the Third Italy, many local industrial clusters in advanced economies are shrinking due to severe international competition. Some firms, however, continue to be resilient even in struggling clusters. This paper argues that managing a balanced web of trust-based "pipelines" and "buzz" in the glocal relational space balancing detachment and embeddednessplays a crucial part in the success of these firms. In recent decades, economic geography has had a significant focus on intra-and inter-firm pipelines and buzz inside and outside the cluster. Theoretical debates on the topic have flourished. However, empirical case studies, particularly from Japan, are limited. This study attempts to fill the gap through a longitudinal case study of leading firms in a local industrythe glove-related industry of Shikoku, Japan. The paper suggests that bringing together the flying geese theory with the pipeline and buzz concept furthers our understanding of the processes at work. The study's results suggest that successful firms -"the lead geese"manage long-held pipelines as well as newly established ones in the glocal relational space. The paper concludes that it is forward-looking, international-oriented leading firms which have the potential to make the cluster resilient in sales and employment rather than the cluster taking the dominant role itself. K E Y W O R D Sbuzz, glocal, industrial cluster, Japan, pipeline, relational

Variegated transnational partnerships: Multi-scalar actor networks in China’s overseas industrial parks

“…At the same time, partnerships are encircled by discourses of 'integration' and 'participation' -discourses that are used to legitimize increasingly decentralized and multi-actor governance (Derkzen, 2010) especially within transnational SEZs. For transnational SEZs, the dual strategy of internationalization and cluster-strengthening-balancing detachment and embeddedness plays a crucial part in the success of these international firms (Taira, 2020). Transnational SEZs are constructed socially through the interactions of vertical and horizontal governance within inter-firm, intra-firm, and extra-firm networks, upon which the nation states and related political economies, as well as societal actors have imposed particular influences, thus ensuring a cohesiveness of the actor network at a local or regional level to further the SEZs' development (Chou and Lin, 2007).…”