Demand- and supply-side agglomerations: Distinguishing between fundamentally different manifestations of geographic concentration

Brian Mccann and Timothy Folta
Additional contact information
Brian Mccann: Purdue University [West Lafayette]
Timothy Folta: Purdue University [West Lafayette], EM - EMLyon Business School

Post-Print from HAL

Abstract: Agglomeration research investigates the benefits that firms receive from locating in close geographic proximity. Despite a substantial surge in interest in this topic over the past 20 years, a lack of distinction among unique manifestations of spatial concentrations of similar firms threatens continuing progress in this stream of research. We argue that agglomerations of related firms that draw benefits from the supply-related externalities of increased access to specialized labour, specialized inputs, and knowledge spillovers are fundamentally different from those that draw benefits from heightened demand realized through reduction in consumer search costs. Extending agglomeration theory, we explicate the differences between these distinct phenomena, discuss how the nature of key theoretical relationships varies across these agglomeration types, and demonstrate significant implications for research. We discuss how the differences affect a host of theoretical relationships and empirical research decisions.

Date: 2009-05-01
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Published in Journal of Management Studies, 2009, 46 (3), 362-392 p. ⟨10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00815.x⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

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:hal:journl:hal-02311825

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2008.00815.x

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Post-Print from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().