Promoting innovation in China by sharing resources in clusters: the new firm perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe research on the relationship between the shared resources of entrepreneurial clusters and the innovative performance, from the perspective of resource acquisition of new firms. Design/methodology/approach – For the purpose of this empirical research, the author chose a high‐tech and development district in China as the cluster sample. First, 240 firms were identified from a district list of firms. The next week, prior to interview, each of the firms listed was called. After this contact there were 156 firms willing to be interviewed. Finally, 93 responses indicated availability. For analyzing the data, structure equation model was employed, and Amos software used for solving the equations. Findings – The findings show that, as shared resources, the common reputation and participation of local institutions play a positive role on new venture resource acquisition. Meanwhile, this mechanism appears to promote innovation within the cluster firms. Originality/value – The research explored the mechanism of share resources and innovation in China's new firm cluster. Suggested advice to the policy makers would be that merely supporting a good policy environment is not enough; governing the network, making institutions play a positive role in strengthening the connection between firms, and building up a knowledge resources exchange base, are all necessary for the creation and growth of new ventures in new firm clusters.