CAN CLUSTERS SURVIVE: A CASE STUDY OF THE FLOORING INDUSTRY'S EVOLUTION

There is a dearth of literature on understanding the survival and evolution of mature, industrial clusters. The purpose of this research is to explore the survival of mature clusters, using the Northwest Georgia (USA) flooring manufacturing cluster as a case study example to determine: How do mature...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAdvances in competitiveness research Vol. 28; no. 3/4; pp. 205 - 226
Main Authors Swalens, Maud, McLean, Aldo, Helms, Marilyn
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Indiana American Society for Competitiveness 01.01.2020
Subjects
Case studies
Community support
Competition
Diversification
Externality
Floor coverings
Flooring
Innovations
Manufacturers
Manufacturing
Productivity
R&D
Research & development
United States > US
Georgia
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Summary:There is a dearth of literature on understanding the survival and evolution of mature, industrial clusters. The purpose of this research is to explore the survival of mature clusters, using the Northwest Georgia (USA) flooring manufacturing cluster as a case study example to determine: How do mature clusters revitalize? How can the eventual death of a cluster be avoided or prolonged? Using content analysis of interviews with cluster industry founders and seminal leaders, four main themes for cluster survival emerged: mergers and acquisitions, diversification, and innovation. Both mergers and acquisitions have consolidated the floor covering cluster while product diversification and innovation have grown the size of the cluster by continuing to including new, innovative product offerings in this mature industry. This work contributes to the understanding of cluster life cycles and patterns, particularly in maturity life cycle stages and beyond. Future areas of research include extending the analysis to other clusters, exploring patterns in clusters particularly at maturity and decline, and exploring the existence of recurring patterns in clusters that have survived compared to clusters that did not.
ISSN:2330-4103