A Functionalist Framework for Identifying Business Clusters: Applications in Far North Queensland

Adee Athiyaman and Celik Parkan
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Adee Athiyaman: Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455, USA.
Celik Parkan: Long Island University. Brookville, NY 11548, USA.

Australian Journal of Management, 2008, vol. 33, issue 1, 201-229

Abstract: The extant literature on industry-cluster identification recommends the use of both quantitative and qualitative data to uncover clusters. We argue for a functionalist approach to identifying clusters. The logic here is that since spatial proximity of firms is an observed fact, attempts to uncover business clusters should begin with a statistical test of the randomness of firm density in a region. Rejection of this hypothesis should lead to an inter-firm analysis that identifies the relationships among firms in the region. Data from a regional area in the state of Queensland, Australia, are employed to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework.

Keywords: INDUSTRY CLUSTERS; COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE; SPATIAL ANALYSIS; Q-METHODOLOGY; CAIRNS; AUSTRALIA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ausman:v:33:y:2008:i:1:p:201-229

DOI: 10.1177/031289620803300110

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