Business Clusters: Partnering for Strategic Advantage

The book contains a selection of papers on business clusters in its multiple perspectives. It has evolved from the research symposium organized by the The Society for Global Business and Economic Development (SGBED), an international group of academicians, at Dubai during January 2009. It begins with an introduction to the concept of clusters, and then examines their link to a host of strategic issues, such as their nexus to competitive advantage, their performance vis-?-vis their competitors who are not similarly agglomerated, and the challenges in measuring the performance of clusters. Regional economic clusters have serious policy implications. Governments, local as well as national, have used clusters as the unit for investment and infrastructure upgrading policies. It focuses on the normative aspects as well as practices and provides pointers on how public policies can help the development and growth of regional economic clusters. With numerous examples and cases from a host countries such as Dubai, Mexico, Spain and Karnataka (India), the book is a must read for all students of business strategy.

C. Jayachandran is a professor of International Business and Marketing with teaching, research and consulting interests in international marketing, international business strategies of firms from emerging markets, business clusters, technology & innovation. He is the founding director of the Center for International Business (CIB) and International Trade Counseling Center (ITCC) at Montclair State University and the founding president of the Society for Global Business and Economic Development (SGBED).
Michael Thorpe is an Associate Professor at the University of Wollongong, Dubai (UOWD). He has worked extensively in South Africa on issues related to economic development and has participated in programs in China, Kenya, Mongolia and Malaysia on behalf of the United Nations and international aid agencies.
Ram Subramanian is a Professor of Management at the School of Business, Montclair State University. His research interests focus on the environment-organization interface, entrepreneurship, market orientation, strategic alliances, and environmental scanning, among others. He is an active case writer and teacher and his case "Dominion Telecom" was selected to demonstrate case teaching at the "Case Writing" workshop at the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario, Canada). Dr. Subramanian is the Vice President (Publications) of the Society for Global Business and Economic Development (SGBED).
Vishnuprasad Nagadevara is currently Professor in Quantitative Methods and Information Systems Area at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. His current interests are Data Mining techniques and applications, application of Operations Research Techniques, Project Management, Project Evaluation and Information Technology Applications. Dr. Nagadevara has carried out research and consultancy projects for various organizations such as UNDP, NABARD, Government of India, Central Silk Board, Government of Karnataka, WIPRO, PSC, ETA (UAE), Wise Scope Technologies (UAE) etc.