Social capital and cluster evolutioninsights from an industrial region

Resumen

In the last 30 years, the concept of clusters has gained widespread popularity, as evidenced not only through a vast conceptual development, but also through its increasing incorporation as an economic development policymaking tool (Martin & Sunley, 2003). However, their inherent complex configuration, and their divergent patterns of evolution make it difficult to specify which are their critical evolutionary drivers (Boschma & Fornahl, 2011; Lorenzen, 2005). Among such drivers, the concept of social capital is recognized as a critical underlying factor for cluster development, while, its mode of characterization, its long-term adaptive capacities to confront external changes, and the problems of its measurement remain as controversial issues (e.g. Van Deth, 2003; Staber, 2007). Accordingly, there remains an open discussion regarding the contribution of social capital within different stages of clusters’ evolution. The research goal of the thesis is to explore and evaluate the role of Social Capital, with a consideration of the endogenous evolution of a cluster and the circumstances of the external environment. Research questions. In the general framework of inquire about the role of social capital in the developmental stages of clusters, the research raises two major questions of interest. On the one hand, it is pertinent to ask: How a notion of Social Capital operates within clusters’ evolution? lead us to propose a conceptual approach after reviewing the literature trends in this topic. On the other hand, to corroborate the conceptual framework, the empirical evaluation is guided by the question: does social capital can exert a distinct influence on the performance of clusters in a changing environment? The major underlying assumption of this thesis considers that social capital acts as a latent factor that provides cognitive and normative support (i.e. values and norms) for driving collective adjustment processes and influencing the different agents’ performance. Specifically, the meaning of social capital in the thesis follows Becattini’s (1990) statement that ‘local community’ values and norms grounded in ethic of work, attitude to change and reciprocity have distinctive effects in shaping the dynamics of clusters’. Thus, the proactive role of such facets of social capital is seen through its impact on cultural, institutional and technical proceedings during the cluster’s evolutionary stages, which, in turn, impacts the performance of firms. It would seem that there remains an academic need to expand conceptual and empirical research on cluster related evolutionary issues (Nadvi & Schmitz, 1994; Boschma & Fornahl, 2011; Lorenzen, 2005). Recently, considerable focus has been placed upon the new clusters life cycle (NCLC) conceptual approach. This methodological framework has been successful in providing insight on the co-evolutionary patterns of firms, networks, industry and institutions (Ter Wal & Boschma, 2011), and in assessing internal heterogeneity and knowledge diversity (Menzel & Fornahl, 2010) as key adaptive levers for resilience in the current economic paradigm. Accordingly, the NCLC framework is used as the dynamical frame to insert the social capital incidence. Meanwhile, since the 1980’s the social capital concept has been extensively used to explain extra-economic effects on the performance of economic agents in Social Sciences (Li, 2015). In relation to clusters, the ‘elastic’ (Kenney & Patton, 2003) nature of the very concept has lead to debatable explanations (e.g. Camagni, 2003, Li, 2015; Noya et al 2008). The importance of social norms, habits, and routines to facilitate collective action to reduce uncertainty, transaction costs, and knowledge dissemination barriers has been explored (Staber, 2007; Durston, 2000). Meanwhile, the view of social capital as a positive factor in initial stages of cluster development, only to ultimately represent a detriment (lock-in cause) for general performance and innovation over time (e.g. Parra-Requena et al., 2013) has also been placed forth. The research is based on a pragmatic view (Creswell, 2003); thus, the strategy of inquiry adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods (i.e. a “non-pure” or “modified” mixed-method: Hernández-Sampieri et al. 2010; Creswell, 2003). The research course is developed in two sections: the first includes a literature review and the development of the conceptual approach. A secondary section contains an empirical evaluation. The qualitative analysis includes a comparative study, containing the information of six cases, to explore the propositions made in the conceptual approach, as well as an in-depth case study examining the Bajo Deba machine tool cluster evolution. The focus upon the Spanish machine tool industry, and more specifically considers the trajectory and drivers of the Bajo Deba district (Basque Country), considered to be the “heart” of the machine tool sector in Spain. This geographical area has evolved as a cluster-type configuration (Boix & Galetto, 2006; Larrea, 2000) and has witnessed a significant productive, economic, and institutional transformation in the last 100 years. Then, a quantitative technique is performed to construct synthetic indexes of social capital and mechanims and to evaluate the causal relationships between social capital and firms’ performances in the Spanish machine tool industry considering the most recent global economic crisis using multilevel regression analysis. The results of the research can be summarized in the following key features: • An analytical approach has been developed that integrates the role of social capital within the life cycle of the clusters. Thus, the influence of this factor is established by proposing interactions between three dimensions (or facets) of social capital, ethic of work, attitude to change, and reciprocity (Becattini, 1990), and mechanisms of development in a cluster grouped between cultural, institutional and technical. Considering that there are certain combinations of interactions are more powerful (or effective) at certain points in the life cycle of a cluster, different propositions have been made to highlight their performance. • The first empirical analysis shows that it is possible to find evidence about the social capital incidence into the the historical trajectory of the clusters analyzed. Moreover, this incidence is not monotonous but is "activated" according to the needs and evolutionary stage of the clusters. So, this exploratory approach helps to categorize some common evolutionary development among clusters, and importantly, to enrich the conceptual approach. • The case study, based on an historical analysis and the systematization of different sources of information, allows to verify the positive synergies derived from the intervention of social capital in the Lower Deba. This intervention has enhanced the development of different internal responses (depending on the cycle phase) to external constraints pressures from the external environment (f.e. the crisis of the mid-1980s, the adaptation to new technologies like numeric control, etc.). At present, the district is facing demanding external pressures that require to recreate incentives for collective action based in the consolidated regional system of innovation and capacity of economic value generation. There are two factors of alarm for the long-term sustainability of the cluster, the decline in the rate of creation of enterprises and the low of integration of immigrants which are clear evidences of the changes in the local values. • The quantitative analysis shows that two major results. First, a contribution has been made to compose a synthetic indicator of the social capital and the mechanisms. Second, although there is a low incidence of regional factors, the indicator of social capital has shown a positive and significant impact to influence the performance of firms. In addition, the high correlation of this indicator in relation to the characterization of risk culture and knowledge dissemination mechanisms suggests that historical pattern of specialization and the development of a knowledge and innovation system seem to play a critical role to shape cluster evolution under external pressures. Also, the individual characteristics of the firms are the dominant drivers to explain the differences into the performance of firms in this very competitive and highly specialized set of economic activities. This thesis attempts to make two contributions: firstly, in academic terms, to provide a conceptual approach to frame the function of social capital based on three elements (ethic of work, attitude to change and reciprocity) regarding the activation of cultural, institutional and technical mechanisms to enhance the resilience of clusters. The second and more practical contribution aims to provide empirical evidence of the diverse effects that social capital may have on the enhancement of territorial and industrial policy design.