Research On The Industrial Cluster And The Government Behavior In Its Development

The industrial cluster, as a new form of industrial organization and an effectivemodel of regional econmy development, has attracted a lot of concern from world-widecommunity, especially every country's government and the international organizationsincreasingly. According to the definition of M. E. Porter (1998), the American famiousscholar, the industrial cluster refers to a large number of enterprises with related businessesin the same industry and organizations clustering in a certain geographical location. AsPorter' viewpoint, all these firms and related organizations are vital to the constructing ofindustrial competitive adventage.As for the reason, the phenomenon of industrial clusters comes into being owing to aseries of social and cultural factors that lies in the final products such as technologicalclassification, the possibility of product difference, the interconnection of technologicalinnovation, the taciturnity of knowledge, the dynamic changes of the competitiveenvironment of enterprise and the economy of development, the low transportation costof the final products, and the fashion and artistry. In mechanism, the formation of industiralclusters is actually a process of shaping of external network. Relative to the formerexplanation of the economy of scope and the external scale, the division of labour andsocial capital, etc., this eview is a new explanation for the formation of the industrialcluster. As the development of industrial cluster, the impact of cluster on the firms lies inthe following three aspects: enterprise innovation, enterprise cooperation and marketenvironment. The enterprise cluster and the evolutional route and stage of networkdevelopment depend on the way of production organization and the amount of socialcapital accumulation.China is a developing country in economy transition. The govnment can play animportant role in the developing of industrial cluster. Drawing lessons from the experienceof other nations in the world and considering the state of the nation of China, thegovernment can carry out some basic functions in promoting the development of thecluster: to supply the system, to supply the public goods, to provide the publicservice(including the producer services), to establish creative system in district and supportthe developing of cluster indirectly by promoting the NGO, to carry on the maintenanceand economies of the market environment to guide etc. Certainly, the governments of theeach nation have some successful way to help the growths of the cluster. Because theindustry cluster has different life cycle stage and different type, the government should dodifferent role as well. Along with the industry cluster growing up, especially the marketscale extending gradually, the government should hand over many functions to the non government organizations, such as private firm and the profession association, etc..In nowadays background of the economic globalization, the competition betweenregions or nations turns worse increasingly, but the competition capability then is mainlydecided by the creative ability. The innovation capability usually comes from theinteraction that nation or internal industry in the cluster, and the cluster can arouse theregional or national economy development. it is found that the innovation capability of thecluster comes from two ways: one of it comes from the inside, through the external andcooperative features of technological innovation and scope economy as Schumpeterianlinear paradigm said; the other is external innovative capability made out of the change andintroduction of technological paradigm. But the both are based on the condition of growthmechanisms. Actually, a large number of the currently existing enterprise clusters are onlya small or medium sized enterprise cluster in traditional industries with no enough intemalor external innovative capability. How to help develop technological innovative'capabilityin these small and medium sized enterprise network, and make it further developed is avery important problem influencing the prosperity of these clusters and needs moretheoretical attention. In fact, it is a good way for the govnment to introduce the innovationsources into the cluster and help them to grow.Because it is important for the industry cluster in today's international competion ofindustry and regional economy development, the governments of each nation have allbeing studying to draw up their own industrial cluster policies. All these are very helpful toChina. Based on the analyse of OECD nations, China should build up an overall policies ofinduatrial cluster in consideration of the knowledge network, producing network and socialnetwork. It is also found that the industrial cluster policies are the game result of thegovernment, industry and other organizations. For it also has failure from time to time, thegovernment should be a forwarder, not a participant. And the industrial cluster is the mainresult of market under the two ways action from top to bottom and from bottom.to top, sothe policy is just a kind of catalyst and lubricants therein.The government can play a vital role in the industrial cluster development. Thepractices of Jianhu County are a good example. Jianhu County is an underdeveloped areain Jiangsu province. It'practices typically show the importance of the small and mediumsized enterprise clusters to the regional economy development and the local government'srole in the policy-making and environmental provision for nurturing these clusters.