Abstract
There is by now sufficient evidence that small-scale industry clusters matter in developing countries. This article intends to contribute to the discussion on cluster transformation by focusing on innovation adoption in a roof tile cluster in Indonesia. Clustering allows small-scale enterprises to grow in 'riskable steps' by sharing the costs and risks through collaboration. Using data from longitudinal field surveys we find that technological change is not only a matter of comparing costs and benefits of technologies, but also a matter of access. Collaboration among leaders is crucial in innovation adoption when technological indivisibilities play a role. In our case study it appears that joint action should be viewed as a means to an end only; it was given up in favour of traditional hierarchies in the cluster as soon as possible.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 150-272 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | Journal of Development Studies |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2001 |