Clusters: semantically different yet a panacea for achieving resilient competitiveness
ISSN: 1059-5422
Article publication date: 27 April 2022
Issue publication date: 3 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to relook at the notion of competitiveness in the challenging times of pandemic. The failure of global value chains caused many nations despite their state of economic development to struggle for necessary items. The goal of achieving profitability abated by having self-sufficiency, specifically in the manufacturing sector where unlike services, the production processes jolted. Under this backdrop, the paper attempts to project local industry clusters as a panacea for achieving resilient competitiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the credibility of clusters as an important tool to prepare nations towards a resilient future, a correlation between the state of cluster development in a country and its national competitiveness has been tested. Besides, any difference in the notion of state of cluster development between least developing countries, developing countries and developed countries has also been tested. The paper uses the data from World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
Findings
Strong support for the research hypothesis has been found. High positive correlation exists between the state of cluster development and national competitiveness. The state of cluster development is found to be significantly different among three categories of countries.
Originality/value
Clusters have been promoted in academic literature, policy circles and the business community for many advantages. This paper is a novice attempt to showcase these can serve as an instrument to prepare economies for self-sufficiency and a resilient future by performing an objective evaluation.
Keywords
Citation
Bhawsar, P. (2023), "Clusters: semantically different yet a panacea for achieving resilient competitiveness", Competitiveness Review, Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 841-860. https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-10-2021-0140
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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