波特解释的集群竞争外文翻译.docVIP

外文翻译 原文 Competition of Industrial Clusters by Porter Resource: The Declining Quality of Earnings Author: William Hester Economic geography in an era of global competition poses a paradox. In theory, location should no longer be a source of competitive advantage. Open global markets, rapid transportation, and high-speed communications should allow any company to source any thing from any place at any time. But in practice, Michael Porter demonstrates, location remains central to competition. Todays economic map of the world is characterized by what Porter calls clusters: critical masses in one place of linked industries and institutions from suppliers to universities to government agencies-that enjoy unusual competitive success in a particular field. The most famous examples are found in Silicon Valley and Hollywood, but clusters dot the worlds landscape. Porter explains how clusters affect competition in three broad ways: first, by increasing the productivity of companies based in the area; second, by driving the direction and pace of innovation; and third, by stimulating the formation of new businesses within the cluster. Geographic, cultural, and institutional proximity provides companies with special access, closer relationships, better information, powerful incentives, and other advantages that are difficult to tap from a distance. The more complex, knowledge-based, and dynamic the world economy becomes, the more this is true. Competitive advantage lies increasingly in local things- knowledge, relationships, and motivation that distant rivals cannot replicate. Porter challenges the conventional wisdom about how companies should be configured, how institutions such as universities can contribute to competitive success, and how governments can promote economic development and prosperity. Paradoxically, the enduring competitive advantages in a global economy lie increasingly in local things-knowledge relationships, and motivation that distant rivals cannot matc