Taking the sanitary ware industry as an example, major domestic sanitary ware manufacturing companies have gathered in Foshan, Chaozhou, and surrounding areas in Guangdong, Taizhou in Zhejiang, Xiaoshan in Hangzhou, Pinghu in Huzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian. Because of the aggregation of these major companies, a complete industrial chain has formed in the above areas and most of the talents required by the industry have been gathered. This phenomenon in the book "National Competitive Advantage," Mike Porter first proposed using the term Industrial cluster to analyze clustering. In my opinion, the accumulation of industries will inevitably produce a corresponding "industrial cluster effect." The emergence of industrial clusters will lead to the development of the industry as a whole in this industrial cluster area, and will bring a strong “geographic brand†effect to the development of enterprises. These can be summarized as “industrial cluster effectsâ€.
The effect of industrial clusters is mainly reflected in the fact that industrial clusters have improved the overall competitiveness of the industry; industrial clusters have strengthened the effective cooperation among the enterprises within the cluster; industrial clusters have played a role of resource sharing and are conducive to the formation of "location brands."
In general, when the industrial clusters are formed, they will be able to improve the competitiveness of the entire region through a variety of ways, such as reducing costs, stimulating innovation, improving efficiency, and intensifying competition, and form a cluster competitiveness. This new kind of competitiveness cannot be owned by non-cluster and extra-cluster enterprises. That is, clusters will be more competitive than non-clusters under the same conditions. Clusters intensify competition, and competition is an important driving force for the industry to obtain core competitiveness. Competition not only manifests itself in competition for the market but also in cooperation.
From the perspective of cooperation, perhaps the cooperation between competitors is not obvious, ceramic sanitary ware industry is mainly reflected in the cooperation between upstream suppliers and manufacturers, producers and distributors. Obviously, it is difficult for enterprises located in Anhui to receive strong support from suppliers around Foshan, even if the company's reputation is very good. For companies in Foshan, getting support from suppliers is easy. In cooperation with distributors, dealers’ recognition of Foshan companies is obviously stronger than that of manufacturers in other regions.
For example, the economic strength or scale of many ceramic enterprises in Foshan may not be as good as that of Shandong Zibo, but perhaps it is only in connection with the word “Foshan†that it may become a darling in the eyes of dealers. Over time, consumers also believe that Foshan The ceramic company is better than Shandong. The same is true for sanitary companies. Foshan's products are always better than those in Zhejiang and Chaozhou. If we consider the strength of individual enterprises, most enterprises in Foshan lag far behind Tangshan Huida and Chongqing's four-dimensional, but from the perspective of market performance, many of the later Foshan SMEs are better than the above two companies.
What's more, industrial clusters increase the company's ability to innovate and promote business growth.
Clustering is not only conducive to improving productivity, but also conducive to the promotion of corporate innovation. This kind of innovation is embodied in many aspects such as concept, management, technology, system and environment. In general, the cluster's impact on innovation is mainly concentrated in the following aspects of this article from Huaxia Ceramics Network:
First, clusters can provide enterprises with a good atmosphere of innovation.
Clusters are a hotbed for fostering corporate learning and innovation capabilities. Companies close to each other will be subject to invisible pressure of competition, forcing companies to continue to carry out technological innovation and organizational management innovation.
Second, clustering is conducive to promoting the transfer of knowledge and technology.
In the industrial cluster, because there are many similar enterprises, competitive pressures inspire the technological innovation of the enterprise, and also force employees to compete with each other and keep learning; neighboring companies bring opportunities for on-site visits and face-to-face exchanges. This kind of learning and competitive regional environment Promote the technological innovation of the enterprise; Leading enterprises within the cluster will lead the direction of industrial technology development. Once a core technology achieves innovative breakthrough, the specialized subdivided companies in the cluster area will soon cooperate in innovation, mutual support, and participation. This kind of networked innovation model.
Third, clustering can reduce the cost of corporate innovation.
Because of geographical proximity, frequent exchanges between each other become possible, providing more learning opportunities for companies to innovate. In particular, the exchange of tacit knowledge can stimulate new thinking and new methods. Due to the existence of a "learning curve", it is easier and less costly for specialized small businesses within the cluster to learn new technologies. Heard that some dealers jokingly stated that the wave whale is the “imitation master†of the sanitary ware industry and plagiarized the good styles in the industry. However, there are more Zhejiang companies engaged in imitation, and it has not been heard that the sanitary ware of Zhejiang has “imitation†today. Master's.
I personally think that the other important significance of the cluster effect is the training and accumulation of talents. Obviously, industrial clustering will naturally bring about a “cluster†of employees, and the result of the cluster of employees is the high degree of collision and exertion of wisdom. Competition is the source of innovation, and it is also the driving force for talent formation. Especially in the regions where superior enterprises gather, the competition among outstanding enterprises will inevitably lead to the emergence of a large number of outstanding talents.
The leading role of leading enterprises in the production of industrial clusters is very important. The quality of leading enterprises affects the quality of the entire industrial cluster. The influence and pattern of leading enterprises even dominate the entire industrial cluster. For example, in Zhejiang, there are many large-scale sanitary companies, and their strength is relatively strong. However, from the standpoint of market status, these large companies have to lag behind those of Foshan that are smaller than their strength and scale. The degree of recognition of Zhejiang products from dealers and consumers is also far behind that of Foshan. In my opinion, the root of this is that the leading enterprises in Zhejiang's industrial clusters are mostly productive enterprises, and their marketing capabilities are not strong. The products they produce are mostly medium- and low-end products. As a result, the style of the entire cluster is not high, and companies that follow suit are doomed to behave in these areas.
The formation of industrial clusters has a specific historical and social background, or is related to special geographical locations and resources. Once the industrial clusters are formed, the resulting clustering effect will affect the development of the industry and consumers' choices in the long run. For companies outside the industrial cluster, how to consider the effect of industrial clusters is particularly important. It would certainly be better to recreate an industrial cluster, but this is by no means an easy undertaking for a company. This is not as good as an opportunity. This may be the most appropriate choice for companies.
The effect of industrial clusters is mainly reflected in the fact that industrial clusters have improved the overall competitiveness of the industry; industrial clusters have strengthened the effective cooperation among the enterprises within the cluster; industrial clusters have played a role of resource sharing and are conducive to the formation of "location brands."
In general, when the industrial clusters are formed, they will be able to improve the competitiveness of the entire region through a variety of ways, such as reducing costs, stimulating innovation, improving efficiency, and intensifying competition, and form a cluster competitiveness. This new kind of competitiveness cannot be owned by non-cluster and extra-cluster enterprises. That is, clusters will be more competitive than non-clusters under the same conditions. Clusters intensify competition, and competition is an important driving force for the industry to obtain core competitiveness. Competition not only manifests itself in competition for the market but also in cooperation.
From the perspective of cooperation, perhaps the cooperation between competitors is not obvious, ceramic sanitary ware industry is mainly reflected in the cooperation between upstream suppliers and manufacturers, producers and distributors. Obviously, it is difficult for enterprises located in Anhui to receive strong support from suppliers around Foshan, even if the company's reputation is very good. For companies in Foshan, getting support from suppliers is easy. In cooperation with distributors, dealers’ recognition of Foshan companies is obviously stronger than that of manufacturers in other regions.
For example, the economic strength or scale of many ceramic enterprises in Foshan may not be as good as that of Shandong Zibo, but perhaps it is only in connection with the word “Foshan†that it may become a darling in the eyes of dealers. Over time, consumers also believe that Foshan The ceramic company is better than Shandong. The same is true for sanitary companies. Foshan's products are always better than those in Zhejiang and Chaozhou. If we consider the strength of individual enterprises, most enterprises in Foshan lag far behind Tangshan Huida and Chongqing's four-dimensional, but from the perspective of market performance, many of the later Foshan SMEs are better than the above two companies.
What's more, industrial clusters increase the company's ability to innovate and promote business growth.
Clustering is not only conducive to improving productivity, but also conducive to the promotion of corporate innovation. This kind of innovation is embodied in many aspects such as concept, management, technology, system and environment. In general, the cluster's impact on innovation is mainly concentrated in the following aspects of this article from Huaxia Ceramics Network:
First, clusters can provide enterprises with a good atmosphere of innovation.
Clusters are a hotbed for fostering corporate learning and innovation capabilities. Companies close to each other will be subject to invisible pressure of competition, forcing companies to continue to carry out technological innovation and organizational management innovation.
Second, clustering is conducive to promoting the transfer of knowledge and technology.
In the industrial cluster, because there are many similar enterprises, competitive pressures inspire the technological innovation of the enterprise, and also force employees to compete with each other and keep learning; neighboring companies bring opportunities for on-site visits and face-to-face exchanges. This kind of learning and competitive regional environment Promote the technological innovation of the enterprise; Leading enterprises within the cluster will lead the direction of industrial technology development. Once a core technology achieves innovative breakthrough, the specialized subdivided companies in the cluster area will soon cooperate in innovation, mutual support, and participation. This kind of networked innovation model.
Third, clustering can reduce the cost of corporate innovation.
Because of geographical proximity, frequent exchanges between each other become possible, providing more learning opportunities for companies to innovate. In particular, the exchange of tacit knowledge can stimulate new thinking and new methods. Due to the existence of a "learning curve", it is easier and less costly for specialized small businesses within the cluster to learn new technologies. Heard that some dealers jokingly stated that the wave whale is the “imitation master†of the sanitary ware industry and plagiarized the good styles in the industry. However, there are more Zhejiang companies engaged in imitation, and it has not been heard that the sanitary ware of Zhejiang has “imitation†today. Master's.
I personally think that the other important significance of the cluster effect is the training and accumulation of talents. Obviously, industrial clustering will naturally bring about a “cluster†of employees, and the result of the cluster of employees is the high degree of collision and exertion of wisdom. Competition is the source of innovation, and it is also the driving force for talent formation. Especially in the regions where superior enterprises gather, the competition among outstanding enterprises will inevitably lead to the emergence of a large number of outstanding talents.
The leading role of leading enterprises in the production of industrial clusters is very important. The quality of leading enterprises affects the quality of the entire industrial cluster. The influence and pattern of leading enterprises even dominate the entire industrial cluster. For example, in Zhejiang, there are many large-scale sanitary companies, and their strength is relatively strong. However, from the standpoint of market status, these large companies have to lag behind those of Foshan that are smaller than their strength and scale. The degree of recognition of Zhejiang products from dealers and consumers is also far behind that of Foshan. In my opinion, the root of this is that the leading enterprises in Zhejiang's industrial clusters are mostly productive enterprises, and their marketing capabilities are not strong. The products they produce are mostly medium- and low-end products. As a result, the style of the entire cluster is not high, and companies that follow suit are doomed to behave in these areas.
The formation of industrial clusters has a specific historical and social background, or is related to special geographical locations and resources. Once the industrial clusters are formed, the resulting clustering effect will affect the development of the industry and consumers' choices in the long run. For companies outside the industrial cluster, how to consider the effect of industrial clusters is particularly important. It would certainly be better to recreate an industrial cluster, but this is by no means an easy undertaking for a company. This is not as good as an opportunity. This may be the most appropriate choice for companies.