Cross-local knowledge fertilization, cluster emergence, and the generation of buzz
研究了集群形成如何由不同地方之间的跨地方联系驱动，提出一个四阶段模型，并用全球钻石产业案例说明跨国社区和紧密网络在集群涌现中的作用。
Recent work in economic geography has investigated how clusters evolve and change over time. Yet our understanding of such processes is still incomplete. Many accounts rest on a perspective that focuses on the development of solitary knowledge ecologies, while neglecting the fact that cluster formation may be triggered when different places are connected and begin to influence each other in mutual beneficial ways. This article argues that conceptualizations of cluster emergence need to understand the crucial ways in which this process is from the very beginning associated with external linkages and trans-local pipelines. A model of cluster formation is presented that suggests how buzz generation is driven by the connections between different localities in four stages: (i) pioneering, (ii) expansion, (iii) off-shoot, and (iv) fusion. We use the case of the global diamond industry, in both inductive and deductive ways, as an example to show that transnational communities and tight networks play a crucial role in forming cross-local connections that can trigger cluster emergence.