The effects of co‐location on marketing externalities in the salmon‐farming industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to is focus on the role of geographic co‐location in the development of firm‐level marketing externalities. Design/methodology/approach – A mail survey and quantitative analysis were used to examine the effect of co‐location on externalities. Fast growing salmon farming clusters in Scotland and Chile were chosen where most environmental variables could be controlled. These clusters enjoy business to business marketing practices. Findings – Respondents indicated several externalities yielded by co‐location such as buying intermediate goods, enhanced reputation and joint participation in trade fairs. However, other externalities such as providing access to new technology and referrals to other firms were only slightly indicated useful as produced by co‐location. Practical implications – Practitioners in the salmon farming industry are suggested to pursue inter‐cluster cooperation. Originality/value – While previous findings are conflicting, the contribution of this study within the limits of its sample is in differentiating the specific traditional and marketing externalities in which co‐location is beneficial for clustered firms.