Application of Social Network Analysis to Visualization and Description of Industrial Clusters: A Case of the Textile Industry

Marina Y. Sheresheva, Lilia A. Valitova, Elena Sharko () and Ekaterina V. Buzulukova
Additional contact information
Marina Y. Sheresheva: Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Lilia A. Valitova: Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
Ekaterina V. Buzulukova: Department of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia

JRFM, 2022, vol. 15, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: This paper discusses the issues of industrial cluster analysis. Initially, the authors explore theoretical approaches to understanding the clusters phenomenon and their identification and analysis. Looking at industrial clusters as network structures connected by various forms of interaction between members, such as ownership linkages, transactions, the presence of common counterparts, and participation in arbitration processes, the authors propose visualizing clusters using social network analysis metrics. This approach helps to address one of the main difficulties when contacting the members of industrial clusters for a subsequent survey or in-depth interviewing. The analysis concludes with a discussion of the proposed method as a way to identify cluster members and determine the most significant ones that are the primary nodes of the network. These key members usually possess enough relevant information about the structure, coordination mechanisms, general strategy, and cluster management system. Therefore, it is possible to limit the list of interviewed respondents without a substantial loss in empirical data quality. The case of the textile industry cluster presented in this paper confirms the applicability of social network analysis to the visualization and description of industrial clusters.

Keywords: industrial clusters; inter-organizational networks; social network analysis; textile industry; Russia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C E F2 F3 G (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/15/3/129/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/15/3/129/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:15:y:2022:i:3:p:129-:d:766381

Access Statistics for this article

JRFM is currently edited by Ms. Chelthy Cheng

More articles in JRFM from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().