Competitive advantage and industrial district: A review of the empirical evidence about the district effect
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to know the dimension and scope that research on the district effect has had in the literature about industrial districts, as well as to shed some light on the connection between industrial districts and business results; or expressed differently, on how being located in an industrial district or not affects or might influence the performance of the firms located therein.
Design/methodology/approach
The purpose of this paper has been achieved through an exhaustive review of the empirical literature dedicated to the so-called district effect. The papers selected in the analysis were selected on the basis of the following criteria: (1) publications in scientific journals; (2) studies carried out in Spain and Italy; and (3) works published between 1994 and 2017.
Findings
The outcome of the literature review suggests, on the one hand, that the debate on the extent to which the territory influences the competitiveness of firms located in industrial districts still remains a topic of great interest. It can additionally be observed that most of the works dedicated to measuring the district effect have done so using three dimensions: (1) productivity/efficiency; (2) international competitiveness; and (3) innovation.
Practical implications
From a theoretical perspective, the findings of this paper make it possible to carry out an integrating proposal for the measurement of the district effect which revolves around three dimensions (productivity/efficiency; international competitiveness; and innovation).
Originality/value
This paper makes a twofold contribution to the literature: (i) it brings together the most important empirical contributions that measure the competitive advantages obtained by firms located in industrial districts through the district effect; and (ii) it theoretically and empirically establishes the essential dimensions of that effect.
Keywords
Citation
Claver-Cortés, E., Marco-Lajara, B., Seva-Larrosa, P. and Ruiz-Fernández, L. (2019), "Competitive advantage and industrial district: A review of the empirical evidence about the district effect", Competitiveness Review, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 211-235. https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-08-2018-0048
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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