Socioeconomy of innovation and entrepreneurship in a cluster of SMEs in emerging economies

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to profile the socio‐economy of an internationally competitive textile industry cluster of small and medium‐sized enterprises in the Faisalabad region of Pakistan and present how the agglomeration has helped the small enterprises to overcome growth constraints and supported them to compete nationally and abroad.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on secondary data, semi‐structured interviews, and questionnaire survey including 267 enterprises. Top managers of small, medium, and large sized enterprises answered the questions. Mixed methods of inquiry and concurrent triangulation approach is used to corroborate and analyze the data.

Findings

The paper presents how the agglomeration has allowed the constituent small and medium sized firms to benefit from various forms of market and nonmarket spillovers, which, in turn, has raised local endogenous innovation and productivity growth.

Originality/value

The paper presents significant new insights for policy makers, practitioners, educators, and researchers into the socio‐economy of agglomerated small and medium sized firms in the context of an emerging economy.

Citation

Islam, F. (2010), "Socioeconomy of innovation and entrepreneurship in a cluster of SMEs in emerging economies", Competitiveness Review, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 267-278. https://doi.org/10.1108/10595421011047451