Agglomeration Theory and Entrepreneurship
For some time there has been interest in the question of whether clusters form because of entrepreneurship, or whether clusters benefit entrepreneurs ( Delgado, Porter, and Stern, 2010 ). Clusters refer to geographic concentrations of similar firms, such the technology firms in Silicon Valley. Researchers are interested to know if clusters breed and boost entrepreneurs to see if pro-cluster policies, such as smart parks, make economic sense. Researchers also want to know if entrepreneurs are better off in clusters or not to inform industrial policy around entrepreneurship education and training ( Cusmano, Morrison and Pandolfo, 2015 ). Spinouts: where employees from firms in a cluster leave to start complementary or competing independent ventures, are seen as important to the diversity and competitiveness of clusters. They are especially important because spinouts tend to stay close to their parent firms and their own networks. Thus, where there are many spinouts, there tends to b