2. Introduction
Innovation Clusters Concept: Alfred
Marshall(19810) defined it as agglomerations
of small specialised firms found in particular
localities.
British Hi-Fi Industry
=Its Origins
=how to develop one
=Critique and Weaknesses
3. History and Background
British Hi-Fi is still the best in the
world, despite the presence of the
likes of Sony, Panasonic, and Canon
in the music industry
4. 1 Evidence of British Hi-Fi
industry as a Cluster?
Geographical concentration in the South
*High degree of specialisation
*Large number of SMEs (65)
*Dominated high tech Hi Fi market and won
many international awards
*High rate of innovation
5. 2 How did it originate?
It came from many different
aspects(hi-fi industry in UK), which
means most of the early innovation was
made by elsewhere, not only one
person or place, ex) Edison in 1877
6. 3. What is spin-off, and how do
they contribute to Hi Fi Industry?
Transformation of old businesses into new
lines of industry.
1) It resulted in more specialized companies,
and created niche'.
2) It created more connections between
companies.
7. 4. What's the similarities of Silicon Valley
and Hi-Fi Cluster in Britain? How did they
contribute to public institutions?
, 1) provided trained experts: Stanford provided
lots of professionals and BBC provided
trained engineers
2) set a platform: National Grid helped
wireless sets market and USA government
invested in the development of the
technology.
8. 5. Which of Markusen's (1996) 4
types of cluster did it belong too?
Marshallian Industrial District Cluster.
Reasons:
1) remarkably large number (no less than 65
companies)
2) relatively small (25 employee or less)
3) Heavy reliance of market mechanism
exchange.
9. 6. Evidence that
innovation is a feature in a
cluster?
Innovation doesn't always come from
specialists , but sometimes Amateur's
idea(input) into the industry can bring
a strong esprit resulted from hobbyist
or enthusiast origins of industry.
10. 7. Evidence that is success is resulted
from Marshall's(1890) "agglomeration
economics"
a) A local pool of specialised labour.
b) firm specialising in intermediate stage of
production and technology.
c) knowledges of spill-overs. in this case, hi-fi in
UK got benefits from numerous hi-fi shows in
the UK by being given an opportunity to meet
old friends and maintain contact, which leads to
making new connection
11. 8. If it extends from South England to
Cambridge, is it still called "agglomeration
economics"?
NO
Too dispersed
Can't achieve specialization
Networking is hard
12. 9. How valid is Martin and Sunley(2003)
critique over this instance?
First, cluster can not guarantee 100% of regional and
local economic growth (2003: 28).
Secondly, competition must be examined in order to
evaluate the cluster.
Thirdly, it depends on perception.
13. 10. Martin and Sunley(2003) suggests that being
uncritical over cluster concept lead to weakness-How
valid is it?
Not really as it helped Britain stand out in the
global market.
Also helped them in their innovation
Investments in R&D are put into good use.
Clusters do not guarantee 100% growth
14. Conclusion
-Clusters can be a defining factor to develop
a successful innovation system and economy
-Clusters can create world class companies
that can compete well in the global markets.
-It has its critique, that it takes more than a
perception to make it a success
