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Cluster and business performance: Historical evidence from the Portuguese cork industry

Author

Listed:
  • Amélia Branco

    (ISEG, Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, and Research Center of Economic and Social History (GHES)/Research in Social Sciences and Management (CSG), Lisboa, Portugal)

  • João Carlos Lopes

    (ISEG, Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, and Research Unit on Complexity and Economics (UECE), Lisboa, Portugal)

Abstract

This paper analyses the relative performance of clustered and non-clustered companies during the different phases of the cluster life cycle. It starts by explaining the location of most of the Portuguese cork manufacturing companies in Santa Maria da Feira, a small county in the north of the country, whereas the bulk of cork is produced in the South. The historical roots of the Feira cluster are examined, as well as the identification of its life cycle phases. The performance of clustered and non-clustered companies is compared using labour productivity data over a long time span of several decades. This exercise illustrates the crucial importance of history for the understanding of cluster dynamics, as well as many other (evolutionary) economic phenomena. KEY Classification-JEL: R12. L73. N60. O14

Suggested Citation

  • Amélia Branco & João Carlos Lopes, 2018. "Cluster and business performance: Historical evidence from the Portuguese cork industry," Investigaciones de Historia Económica - Economic History Research (IHE-EHR), Journal of the Spanish Economic History Association, Asociación Española de Historia Económica, vol. 14(01), pages 43-53.
    • Handle: RePEc:ahe:invest:v:14:y:2018:i:01:p:43-53
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    Cited by:

    1. Ayrapetyan, David, 2023. "Technological innovations and sustainability transitions in the bioeconomy: A multiscalar approach toward the development of bioclusters," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 278703, January.
    2. Ayrapetyan, David & Hermans, Frans, 2020. "Introducing a multiscalar framework for biocluster research: A meta-analysis," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 12(9).
    3. J. Francisco Rangel-Preciado & Francisco M. Parejo-Moruno & Esteban Cruz-Hidalgo & Francisco J. Castellano-Álvarez, 2021. "Rural Districts and Business Agglomerations in Low-Density Business Environments. The Case of Extremadura (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industria corchera. Ciclo de vida del clúster. Localización industrial. Portugal;

    JEL classification:

    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • L73 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Forest Products
    • N60 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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