Knowledge and information acquisition of cluster firms through personal networks and value-chain linkages : a case study of China's mobile phone manufactuing industry

This article investigates how heterogeneous firs in China's industrial clusters (ICs) acquire the external knowledge and information necessary for their businesses. We developed an empirical analysis of a sample of 107 firms in China's moible phone industry to determine how different tyepes of knowledge and information are conveyed through a variety of conduits, particularly personal network and value-chain linkages. We find that personal networks played important roles when firms gathered a variety of knowledge and information, whereas firm heterogeneity mattered when they gathered core technological knowledge and information. Larger firms tended to depend more on vertical linkages with suppliers, particularly platform vendors, whereas smaller firms relied more on personal networks when they obtained core technological knowledge and information. Several academic and policy implications are derived from the findings.