关键词: 地方创业, 产业集群, 集群转型, 关系网络

Abstract:

The perspective of entrepreneurial agents for evolutionary investigation on the mechanisms of industrial cluster restructuring is particularly useful for understanding the bottom-up constructing process of restructuring. Based on the discussion on the content of entrepreneurship and concept definition of local entrepreneurship, this article proceeds with the theoretical analysis on the relationship between local entrepreneurship and cluster evolution. In the cluster formation phase, new firms relying upon the similar working experiences and diversifying firms are the critical mass owing to opportunities of interactive learning. In the cluster development phase, localized spin-off dynamics account for the rapid expansion of existing industries. When the cluster matures, the cluster paradox emerges. Agglomeration economies boost the performance of the incumbent firms, but meanwhile increases the degree of competition between new firms and the risk of spillover. In this case, specialized clusters tend to enter the phase of lock-in in particular in face of economic restructuring. Industrial structures with related diversification helps the restructuring of the clusters. However, the structure-determined view tends to overlook the agency of economic actors. Complex theory in evolutionary economic geography views cluster development as a non-linear process in arguing that the decline of clusters is not inevitable and clusters can be upgraded and restructured with new technology or new resources. Relying on the complex thinking in resilience theory, it highlights the new path creation as processes triggered by external shock events, and are jointly formed by existing socio-cultural environment for new business and active initiative taken by the entrepreneurs and their networks. The article tries to integrate the relational and institutional perspective in order to understand the local entrepreneurship as a power practice to legitimize new institutions for new technologies, which is placed in the relational geometries with other cluster agents, such as the local government, global lead firms and related institutes. It is argued that research attention on entrepreneurial attributes and background, as well as their network power is critical for the understandings on cluster evolution mechanism. Last, the direction for future studies on entrepreneurship-driven cluster restructuring within the China transition context is put forward. Firstly, investigation into the role of entrepreneurship should acknowledge the strategic initiatives of different types of entrepreneurs in different industrial milieus and regional circumstances. The interaction and network between local entrepreneurs and other cluster agents should become the research focus in studies of Chinese coastal regions in times of economic restructuring. Secondly, focus on the micro-scale entrepreneurial space should be placed in order to shed light on policy implications on the establishment of start-up parks. The entrepreneurial communities have been rapidly emerging as one of the new urban space in China, which helps to strengthen the trust and sense of identity, and forms the pivotal base for the power practice of the entrepreneurs with other agents.

Key words: local entrepreneurship, industrial cluster, cluster restructuring, relational networks