Institutional, temporal and cross-cluster dynamics in agglomeration

Motivated by a deep curiosity about the phenomenon of agglomeration, this dissertation from a strategic management perspective explores how a firm's performance is affected by where the firm is geographically located; how an entrepreneur's location decision is influenced by geographic concentration of existing firms; and how a place's capability of sustaining the competitiveness of local industry is affected as a result.;The main body of the dissertation is organized into three themes. Theme I examines the conditioning effects of institutional thickness and industry life cycle on the impact of agglomeration on entrepreneurial activities. Theme II examines the conditioning effects of institutional thickness and industry life cycle on the impact of agglomeration on firm performance. Theme III at the cluster-level examines how a place's capability of attracting new investments and sustaining existing firms is affected by neighboring clusters.;Key findings are: (1) the impact of agglomeration on firm founding and firm performance are time contingent; (2) institutional thickness has a negative direct impact on entrepreneurship and a positive moderating effect on the relationship between agglomeration and firm founding; (3) institutional thickness serves as a substitute to agglomeration, in terms of boosting performance of local firms; and (4) neighboring industry clusters help an industry cluster to attract investment but at the same time threaten the performance of local firms. These findings, organized into three interconnected themes, advance the ongoing dialog between strategy and geography.;A comprehensive literature review shows three fundamental yet understudied factors in the existing agglomeration literature: time contingency, local institutional factors and cross-cluster interaction. First, by applying industry life cycle theory, it is argued that the externality of agglomeration varies as an industry goes through its life cycle. Second, from an institutional perspective, it is argued that the impact of agglomeration is conditioned on local institutional factors. Third, it is argued that cross-cluster competition and collaboration significantly affect firm survival and founding. To examine these three factors, this dissertation performs a longitudinal analysis of Canada's telecommunication equipment manufacturing industry during a turbulent period: pre and post the burst of the dot-com bubble (1995-2005).