Clustering : a matter of geography

In the past decade there has been an increasing interest and discussion around the concept of collaboration as firms look for new ways to secure a future in an increasingly competitive global economy. Interest in collaboration has been shown by several academic disciplines which have led to a wide range of definitions of collaboration. Through the discussions of collaborations the Cluster formation has become a buzzword, possibly on the back of the introduction of the 'Cluster Initiative' which is discussed by Solvell et al (2003) on the back of work by Michael Porter. Many of the Cluster definitions are based on European and American experience and some such as the 'Cluster Initiative' suggest that geographical proximity is a requirement for a Cluster to be established. This paper explores some of the definitions of collaboration, with particular focus on the concept of Cluster Initiatives and its relevance to Australian industry. While primarily a conceptual paper, some insight from initial data collection of an Australian clustering project in the Australian tooling industry are also offered.