DOI: 10.5716/978-981-08-9493-1_IE37
Authors: S.S.Prabhakara and N.V.Raghavendra
Abstract:
A close proximity of manufacturing firms, suppliers, financial institutions and complimentary firms and agencies are believed to provide an environment which is conducive for flow of technological information and know how. The diffusion of such information and know how is believed to take place primarily by horizontal, vertical and external collaborations; horizontal collaborations, in the form of co-operation among peer firms; vertical collaborations, across the supply chain; and, external linkages to the suppliers, technology providers and others outside the cluster.
This paper examines the influence of these three collaborations on technological learning of firms in the Bangalore machine tool cluster in south India. To provide quantitative rigor we have developed a technological capability index and suitable proxies to measure technological learning variables. The empirical data reveals that vertical collaboration and external linkages significantly influence technological learning, whereas the horizontal collaboration is rather weak.This result offers interesting insights into the dynamics of this cluster, which has important implications for policy makers.
Keywords: machine tool cluster; technologicalcapability; learning; technology level
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