Industrial cluster involvement, organizational learning, and organizational adaptation:an exploratory study in high technology industrial districts

Purpose – The primary purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among a firm’s industrial cluster involvement, organizational learning and its ability to successfully adapt to external environment. Design/methodology/approach – Field survey research method was used, and data were collected from 943 high-technology companies in the USA, China, Taiwan and Sweden. Multiple regression analysis, as well as mediation test, was conducted to analyze the data. Findings – The study finds that being positioned in an industrial cluster enhances a firm’s learning and further leads to a firm’s desired adaptive outcomes. Research limitation – Using self-reported data could be a potential limitation of this study. It would be preferable to have other forms of data for a study. Further, cross-cultural comparisons are needed to enhance our understanding in this multicultural setting. Practical implication – The findings provide business executives, as well as policymakers, a new way of thinking in respect to how to develop holistic learning practices and improve inter-firm trust to appropriately adapt to the fast changing environment. Originality/value – The major contribution of this study is an initial attempt to provide a comprehensive approach in analyzing a firm’s industrial cluster involvement. Further, the study attempts to empirically examine learning and cluster involvement in relation to organizational adaptation.